Still Untitled: A Story Of Edd
by JynxedOne
Summary: After a long summer away Edd begins reconnecting with Old friends. And Enemies? Will this lead to closer relationships and feelings long forgotten? Will it cause a rift between him and his best friends?
1. Homecoming

"Eddward, do you have everything"?

"Yes mother, I believe so" the boy in the black beanie replied, grabbing several suitcases. Eddward, Edd, or Double D as he was known, had spent the summer traveling with his parents. They both worked jobs that required constant and abrupt travel so he was often home alone. So to make up for it this year his parents had him go on their travels with them. Over the course of just the few weeks of summer vacation he had traveled everywhere from London to Egypt all the way to Venezuela. It was the time of his young life.

School would be starting soon and his parents wanted to make sure he was home in time to gather everything he'd need and adjust back to a normal schedule. Unfortunately, they would be heading out again the next morning. Edd didn't mind though. He got to spend the entire summer with them so he was happy. Besides. He would have all his friends back home to keep him company.

Admittedly he had been bad about keeping in touch with everyone while away. Not having much time to return many texts or phone calls. He knew one of his best friends, Eddy would let him have it for that. He could already hear his voice screaming in his ear. Which made him chuckle. Which caught his father's attention.

"What's so funny son?" he asked with a smile.

"Nothing father. Just looking forward to getting back home is all". The airport they landed in was about a two hours drive from Peach Creak. It was 5:30 AM so it seemed like a good idea to try and get a little bit of sleep in. There was a lot to do when he got home.

The sun's light hitting his sleeping face awoke Edd. Opening his weary eyes the place he called home slowly came into focus. As much as he'd enjoyed traveling being home felt good. He eagerly awaited getting back to his normal life.

Edd stepped out of the car and embraced being back home. The clean crisp air was a welcome change to some of the places he'd been over the summer. It was quiet, calm, and peaceful.

Looking around he saw some of the kids of the cul-de-sac already out enjoying one of their last days of summer. Jimmy and Sara were out having a tea party. Kevin was working on his new car his parents helped him buy, which he affectionately called Serenity. Nazz was soaking up some sun trying to get a tan. He didn't see his two best friends around, although that came to no surprise.

"Head in a sock Edd boy", Edd looked over to see his foreign friend Rolf walking towards him, "Welcome home!", he exclaimed while giving Edd a rather painful hug.

"It's good to be back Rolf", he managed to squeeze out. Once Rolf released Edd he held out a small cactus, "Jim! Thank you again for taking care of him while I was away Rolf. I'd have asked Ed or Eddy but they surly would have forgotten or lost interest in it". Edd looked up from Jim to see his friend holding his suitcases.

"Come, and tell Rolf of your travels!", Edd could only smile and follow Rolf into his home.

Two hours spent catching up with his old friend, telling him of his travels flew by in the blink of an eye. Before he knew it he was finishing up shopping for supplies for the school year.

"Let's see. No. 2 pencils, ballpoint pens, highlighters check. Composition notebooks, binders, and dividers, check. Folders and index cards, check. I do believe that's everything.", he said ecstatic about the school year. He would be entering his junior year of high school. He had always been a model student and would not let this year be any different.

On his way back home Edd passed by the local library. With all the plane travel he'd been doing this summer he had actually finished most of his books. So he decided to stop in a grab a few to hold him over.

The library was a relatively new building, only being built two years ago. It was nice having a big library in town. Before it was built the only way Edd could get books was driving 20 minutes to another library. He hated driving, so needless to say this new one was a godsend for him.

He walked in and felt the cool breeze from the air conditioner hit his sweat filled face.

"Hello Eddward. Haven't seen you around all summer. I was beginning to worry." Mrs. Clair, the librarian was a young Women who ran the library. She knew Edd very well due to the insane amount of books he always took out.

"Good morning Donna", she insisted to be called by her first name at all times, "I was traveling with my parents over the summer. Sorry to worry you".

"Well, there's a lot of new books waiting for you" she smiled and walked back to her office. Edd knew just what kind of books he wanted to check on. He wanted to try his hand at a garden so he needed some guidelines and information on plants and proper care for them.

With a handful of books he was ready to make his way out when he heard a familiar voice call out to him.

"Double D?", said with a sultry high pitch voice. Edd turned to see none other then the blue haired girl who, along with her two sisters, tormented him and his best friends during their younger years.

"Oh, Marie. Good morning. How are you on this fine day?" Edd and Marie's relationship had become much better after Lee and May moved away with their fathers. She became a lot more "tamed", so to speak. Since then Edd has had no issues with her forcing her misguided love on him and was now able to speak to her without all the fear of being attacked, kissed, etc...

"I'm doing well thanks. Want me to check you out"?

"You work here Marie? I'll have to admit I'm surprised. I never knew you enjoyed books so much".

"Well maybe you should have asked Sweetie." she said using a seductive voice and wink, sending a slight chill down Edd's back. Marie knew she could still get a fun reaction out of Edd if she wanted to. So every now and again, she would. Much to his dismay.

"The complete encyclopedia of plants and trees? " she looked up, obviously holding back a laugh.

"If you must know, I'm looking to start a garden soon and want to be prepared". The serious tone Edd used made it all the funnier to Marie. Which, of course, he did not find as amusing as she did.

"Here Double D.", Marie grabbed a book out of her bag and handed it to him, "It's a book I just finished. I think you'll like it.", Ready Player One. Edd had never heard of it. "I know it's not the kind of thing you usually read, but I know you'll like it." He couldn't help but smile at the gesture and placed the book in one of the bags he had his school supplies in.

"Thank you very much Marie, I'll be sure to read it and get it back to you soon. He said with a grin that made a now blushing Marie smile.

"I'm in no hurry for it, so take your time. So, where have you been all summer? I don't think I've seen you once before today".

"I spent it traveling with my parents. They're always moving around for work so I got to tag along and spend some time with them" Edd explained.

"Oh! So that's why they leave sticky notes all over your house? Because they're never around to tell you things"? Edd looked puzzle at her, wondering how on earth she knew that. "Don't looked surprised. Remember how much me and my sisters used to get into your house?" Marie stuck her tongue out and laughed, remembering how she used break into Edd's house in their youth.

"Ah, yes. Not sure how I could forget a thing like that." he replied with a shy grin, "However, mother and father no longer leave sticky notes for me. Instead they just text me with things they would like me to get done for them." She could see a glint of worry in Edd's eyes "Don't worry. We never told anyone about that". Marie handed Edd the books he took out. "Here you are. One really big book on plants.

"Thank you Marie. I suppose I should be heading out. Ed and Eddy should be up around now".

"Oh god." Marie said with a loud laugh, "Is he still fuming over what happened?" Edd again looked puzzled at her. "You don't know? How did he not tell you? He was screaming about it so loud I heard it down at the trailer parks. He did so bad last year he has to repeat all his classes. He'll be with the 10th graders. I can't believe he didn't tell you." A blank stare came over Edd's face. "You okay double D"? He hadn't had his phone on for weeks. Eddy must have tried tirelessly to get a hold of him.

"Oh dear. I'm sorry Marie, but I have to go. Have a nice day!" he screamed as he bolted out of the library.

Edd ran straight for Eddy's house. Unfortunately when he got there his mother informed him he was to have no visitors. So after "ignoring" his best friend for weeks he couldn't even apologize until school started next week. With nothing else to do Edd decided to head home and begin his reading.

In his bedroom he was ready to begin the encyclopedia of plants and trees. When he pulled it out of his bag the book Marie had given him fell to the floor. He picked it up and looked it over. "Interesting premise." he thought as he placed it on his desk next to his other books.

_"Yes, I would love some Double D. This was a wonderful idea. A picnic by the stream. So quiet here. So private". Edd, grinning cheek to cheek reveled in the happiness he felt. "Come on oven mitt. Let's go for a walk!" she said as she pulled Edd up off of their blanket. Alright alright, I'm coming Mar.." *Crash* (can't think of a better way to write that)._

"What?" a confused Edd was now laying on his bedroom floor. Looking up to his desk he saw his book of plants and trees opened. He must have fallen asleep and fallen off his chair while reading. "Curse my rigid sleep schedule. I suppose this is why mother and father had me home early". Edd picked himself up and sat back at his desk, pondering his dream. Not wanting to over think a simple dream he continued to his book.

**AN: Hello, thanks for taking the time to read this! I used to love writing but have not really written anything in years. I'm hoping this will be a gateway back into it. I know I'm rusty and have many mistakes in this so any constructive criticism/tips would be very much appreciated. Also I'd like to thank Korvyn77 for helping me decided to start writing again and looking over what I had! Thanks again.**


	2. Chapter 2

Edd awoke the next morning a bit cranky. He was usually an early riser but today he, and a good part of the neighborhood, were awoken by Rolf's old and very loud tractor. Rolf was one of Edd's dearest friends and he knew he would never intentionally do something like this, so he couldn't possibly be mad. Although that didn't excuse the fact that it was 6:15 AM and he was awake. Not being able to get back to sleep Edd decided to just start off his day. After a quick shower and ironing his freshly washed cloths he headed down to make some breakfast. Where on the Kitchen table he found a note from his mother.

'Eddward, please make sure you pick up some groceries today. You're father and I won't be back for a couple of weeks. I'll be sure to call you as soon as I can. Love you!'

Edd had actually forgotten that his parents would be leaving today. With both of them gone, Eddy grounded for the foreseeable future, and Ed actually having a job that took up most of his free time down at the construction yard, Edd was pretty alone right now. Even Rolf, who he considered one of his best friends was gone for the day at some farmers market. Thinking about this while standing in his big house, alone, Edd felt a heavy pain. 'Bzzz Bzzz' Edd's pocket was vibrating. He had received a text from Kevin, of all people.

"Double D, I saw you're lights on. Guess Rolf woke you up too. I'm working on my car and need a few tools I don't have. Can you bring yours over and help me out for a bit?"

Kevin and Edd had never been best friends, but their shared interest in engineering had brought them closer then they'd been in the past. Whenever one was building or fixing something they would often end up doing it together. Although, Edd didn't specialize in cars and certainly didn't know more about how they worked then Kevin did. It didn't sound like he needed help as much as he needed tools though. The way he was feeling right now, Edd didn't care what it was, he just wanted to get out of the house. So he grabbed the tools Kevin listed and headed out.

It was refreshingly cool outside with the sun just starting to rise. A nice change from the blistering heat the day brought.

"Eddward!" turning to the adjacent house Edd saw his elderly neighbor Mr. Golden. "Hello Mr. Golden! What brings you out this early"?

"Same thing as you, Rolf''s Damned Tractor! Figured since I was up I'd start the house work". Edd noticed the sign and hammer in Mr. Golden's hands. He saw Edd eying it and let out a sigh as he started hammering it into the dirt. "This is a big house Eddward. With the kids gone the Mrs. and I just don't think it's worth it trying to keep up with all the work she needs. There's a bunch of smaller houses not that far from here. We could never leave Peach Creak." he said with a hardy laugh. Edd could only smile at his lively neighbor.

"Let me know if you need any help Mr. Golden. Have a nice day." Mr Golden smiled and waved and got back to his work while Edd continued to make his way to Kevin's.

Kevin was checking the air in his tires, as he did at every spare minute, for whatever reason. He saw Edd walking up his driveway with the tools he needed and his face lit up.

"Damn man, you're a life saver! I left my toolbox at Rolf's yesterday. Completely forgot he had that market thing today. Would have gone insane not being able to work on Serenity". Kevin took the toolbox and held out his fist, which Edd hit with his (something they started doing years ago). Kevin wasted no time and immediately got under his car and started turning, twisting, cutting, and pulling things. For a few minutes he was so utterly into what he was doing he had almost forgotten Edd was standing next to him. Edd on the other hand was just happy to have some company. Eventually Kevin came back up and started messing around under the hood of the car.

"Must have loved it right?" Edd looked over with a confused look.

"Loved what, Kevin"?

"Getting to spend the whole summer with your parents Dork." surprised, Edd could only smile and nod his head. "I can't pretend to know what it's like. Having your parents gone all the time. I'm lucky enough to have them both every day. Edd was completely taken back by the sincerity of Kevin's words. "Throw me that rag will ya? Haha, you did miss one hell of a show though. Did you hear about Eddy".

"About how he is being held back with the 10th graders this year? Yes, I'm afraid I did."

"You got to admit, it's pretty funny right? Even Ed managed to pass all of his classes, and he was holding his job at the construction yard all year too. That's what he gets though. Skipping all the time and never doing work. Good thing you stopped carrying him". Eventually Edd had gotten tired of doing all of Eddy's work for him. Which is when his decline in interest of school started.

"I suppose he does deserve being held back. So, do you plan on trying out for the football team this year? I remember you wanted to last year but never did".

"Yeah. Last year my parents wanted to make sure I could hold up good grades before I could be on any teams. What about you? You going to try out for the Soccer team"?

"Oh, of course not. I don't have the skills for such a thing". Kevin looked up with a blank stare at Edd.

"We both know that's a load of shit dude. The team could use you. They're not exactly good."

"I don't know what you think I could contribute to the team. Ether way, I have my studies to focus on, thank you".

"Whatever you say. Come help me a minute will ya".

Edd helped Kevin on his car well into the morning. Most of the kids were outside enjoying the sun and freedom of the last week of summer. He even saw Ed head out to work. He ran out of his house yelling "Late, late, late! No buttered toast for Ed!" Edd still hadn't gotten to say hi to Ed since he got back. He had picked him up some gifts he wanted to give him.

"Alright man. I think we're done." Kevin through Edd a towel to wash off his hands. "Thanks for bringing the tools over. Owe you one". Kevin's mother was yelling for him from his front door.

"Kevin! Breakfast is ready!" They really were a tight nit family. Edd grabbed his tools and headed back to his house.

It was only 9:30. Edd felt like he needed another shower and to actually make some breakfast this time. While making some toast he pondered what he was going to do for the next few hours before he went and picked up groceries. He remembered the book Marie lent him. He decided to grab it and read for a while to kill some time.

What he thought would be a nice way to kill an hour or so turned into him sitting in his study for 6 hours, reading the book cover to cover without even realizing it. Marie was right. It was certainly not the kind of book he would have ever picked up on his own, but it was definitely worth every minute he spent reading it. Realizing what time it was Edd decided it was a good time to go shopping. He debated on whether or not he should try stopping by the library to give Marie back her book. He wasn't sure when she worked, but he could leave it with Donna. He was sure she'd make sure Marie got it. So with that he grabbed the money his parents leave for groceries and headed out the to the store.

Much to Edd's dismay the local store was packed. Having to maneuver between people, overhearing their conversations, and worst of all getting their germs all over him. Not his ideal situation at all. Good news was the list of things to get wasn't horribly long, just the essentials.

"Watch it kid!" a rather large women screamed at Edd as she slammed into him.

"Terribly sorry ma'am." he said, trying his to sound sincere. The women made similar remarks to others as she bumped into them. Being in the store for a total of five minutes and he was ready to bash his head into a wall. He should be enjoying himself. With the insane heat outside and his own air conditioner being broken, the store was his refuge.

"Just have to get some bread, milk, and water. Then I'll have everything and can get out of this place". 'Crash'

"Watch it punk!" Great, someone else rams into him and he has to act like it was his fault.

"So sorry, don't know what I was doing". He was bending over picking up some of his groceries that had fallen out of his cart when he heard the person start laughing. Looking up he saw it was Marie.

"Relax Double D. Just messing with you." she helped Edd pick up the last of his groceries. He couldn't help but notice the perfume Marie was wearing. It smelled wonderful. "Sorry about that. Wasn't too focused, didn't mean to crash into you like that".

"It's no problem at all I assure you, Marie".

"I'm not used to being here so late in the afternoon. It's so crowded. And some fat lady tried starting stuff with me. Got right in her face and told her off. No manners in people nowadays." Edd simply nodded at what Marie was saying.

"I feel the same way. I had planned on coming here early this morning, hoping to avoid all the rush".

"Why didn't you"?

"I actually got caught up in reading the book you lent me". Marie's face lit up. Like she didn't expect Edd to actually take the time to start reading it.

"Do you like it so far? How much have you read"?

"I finished it. It was a very well written book".

"You finished it! Jeez Double D. I honestly didn't expect you to even read it, let alone finish it in a day". The two talked about the book until they had both cashed out and were outside the store.

"Oh! I almost forgot." Edd pulled out Marie's Book and handed it back to her. "Thank you so much for lending it to me. Any other books you could recommend I'd be more then happy to read".

"I'll keep that in mind". Edd waved and began walking towards him house when Marie called out. "Hey Double D. Would you mind coming by the library sometime and hanging out? Not a lot of interesting people come by. I get pretty bored and it would be nice to actually have someone to talk to for once".

"I'd love to Marie. Not sure how great of company I can be though".

"Oh please. You're wonderful company. You can tell me all about your summer. And I can give you books that aren't about plants".

Marie headed back to her trailer and Edd back to his house with a smile. He was happy he ran into Marie. Although their conversation was short, it was nice to have someone to talk to. He grabbed his phone form his pocket to check the time. He had one missed call and a text from his mother.

"Sorry I missed you Eddward. I'll call back later tonight. Love you".

Edd was surprised he didn't notice his phone going off. Didn't realize how into his conversation with Marie he must have been. The day started off awful, but ended up being rather enjoyable. Between the time he spent working with Kevin and talking with Marie. Now he could go home and whip up something for Dinner. And maybe fix the air conditioner.


	3. Chapter 3

8:30 AM. Edd had slept straight through the night. It was the first time since he returned home that he had slept well. Of course, it only took two days to adjust back so he couldn't really complain. He opened his window, relishing in the breeze of the beautiful day.

It seemed with each passing day the kids of the neighborhood made an effort to get outside earlier and earlier. You'd think with school staring in less than a week they would all be sleeping well into the afternoon and be up all night. Edd was ecstatic about getting back to school. More then anything he looked forward to being with his best friends again. Already his third day home and he is yet to speak to either Ed or Eddy. The ladder may be a good thing however, considering his situation.

Since returning home Edd had realized in the absence of his best friends, he still had great friends he could rely on. Like Rolf and Kevin, and even Marie. It was a good feeling. Considering during his youth the only friends he had were Ed and Eddy. It made him happy when he thought about how far he'd come.

Edd was in an unusually good mood this morning (considering how he was typically a grouchy person in the morning). This was because he was awoken by a phone call by his mother. Due to the nature of their jobs his parents couldn't call as often as they would like to. Most of the time it was just texts. He and his mother had a chance to talk for about 20 minutes before she had to go. His father was sleeping but he managed to get on the phone and tell his son he loved him. Edd's mother liked to pry into every nook and cranny of his life when she got the chance. She asked how Ed and Eddy were, happy hearing Ed was still employed, and not exactly shocked at the news about Eddy. She knew Edd had "helped" him with his work throughout their years of school. They talked about how he was researching to make a garden, an idea his mother loved. He even brought up how he had spent time working on Kevin's car with him and talking to Marie about books. The last bit is what really caught his mother's attention. Edd assured her there was absolutely nothing going on between them and they were just friends. His mother always thought he and Marie were cute. Seeing her chance him around all the time when they were younger. Speaking of which. Edd realized he again had no books to read since finishing the one Marie lent him. She mentioned yesterday she was working today, so he could go down to get a book, as well as visit Marie and enjoy the cool air.

Edd walked along the sidewalk leading to the front doors. Rounding the corner, he noticed an overturned trashcan rustling around. Cautiously, he observed and soon after stopping to look, Victor the goat rolled out, covered in various articles of waste. A wave of disgust washed over him as he set forth to the library entrance. Which is where he saw Rolf, as well as Marie, who was repeatedly smashing her head into a table.

"What is this dribble? Rolf does not understand!" he heard his friend yelling from across the library. He went up to the front counter to ask Marie what was going on.

"He won't leave Double D! I've screamed and screamed but he just won't leave!" she said sobbing. She explained that he had been there for 20 minutes trying to find some book on goats that

Marie explicitly told him they didn't have. Knowing how stubborn Rolf was, and how easily Marie got irritated, Edd decided to go and help Rolf find a book of similar taste to what he was looking for.

The sight of Rolf leaving brought a huge smile to Marie's face. She grabbed Edd's hand and repeatedly thanked him. Has she being a little mellow dramatic? Probably. But Edd wasn't about to stop her. He thought the whole situation was hilarious. However, now that the situation was resolved, he could finally find his own books.

"I don't understand how you can handle that guy Double D. I'm ready to just lay down and die after that". Edd smiled and handed the book he wanted to Marie. Who instantly dropped it. "Feed? Double D! This is the worst book I have ever read. I will not let you waste your time with it." She pulled out her bag and reached around for a second. Some make up, a button that said "Believe in the Shield" and a wrestling magazine poured out. "There it is. Here. This is a much better book." Green Angle by Alice Hoffman, he read. "Just trust me on this one. Feed is a god awful book." she said as she struggled to put everything back into her bag while still keeping eye contact with Edd. "I just finished it last night. It was an early birthday gift from my mom". Edd looked up from reading the synopses of the book. Was her birthday soon? She's been so nice about lending out books to Edd lately. Would it be expected of him to get her something? "It's tomorrow in case you were wondering. And yes, you have to get me something." she said with an evil grin. "Now go home and read that!" she barked., "I have something else for you after that too, so read it quick". Edd scurried out of the library both out of fear of Marie, and interest in the book. And what about her birthday? What on earth would he get her? What could he get her? He could use express delivery on amazon and get anything by tomorrow. But what would she like? The Wrestling magazine, and the pin. Maybe that will give him some sort of an idea. Whatever he was going to get, he had to do it soon.

6 AM and Edd was awoken by the sound of knocking at his door. Though, he was actually relieved about it. Last night he was up on amazon for hours trying to find Marie a decent Birthday gift. He finally managed to find something he thought she would like, and even snagged the last one in stock. He had it shipped overnight (which wasn't cheep. So Marie better love it). He had to go and sign for it, but since that was out of the way he could get back to sleep not worrying about anything except actually going to the library later and giving it to her.

Edd was actually fairly busy today. A lot of chores that needed to be done around the house as well as helping Mr Golden make his house a little more presentable for some people coming by to look at it today. After all was said and done it was around noon and he figured it was a good time to go and give Marie the gift he bought her. He had wrapped it in some black skull paper he picked up. He debated whether or not to get her a card as well, but decided against it.

Thankfully today was one of the cooler days at Peach Creek only being 75 out, a welcome change from the high 80s-90s they've had ever since he returned. The cool breeze of the library's air conditioner was still a very soothing sensation.

"Hello Eddward. Finish your books already?" Donna was behind the front desk where Marie usually was.

"Good afternoon Donna. May I ask where Marie is"?

"Oh sweetie, she asked for the day off. It's her birthday today. But judging from the present in your bag you already knew that." A now blushing Edd thanked Donna and quickly exited the library. He had considered asking Donna to give Marie the gift tomorrow, but it was her birthday and Edd wanted to make sure she got it today. So it looked like he was going to have to go down to the trailer park and give it to her himself. Which he had no problem with. Or, he wouldn't if the trailer park hadn't become a much more shady area then it used to be. It was a ways away from the Cul-de-sac so he's never had to deal with it. The worst stuff usually happens at night so he should be fine. Hopefully.

It was rather difficult remembering the area where Marie's trailer was located, but after a little searching he found her beaten and battered mailbox. Hearing the screaming from all the neighbors, large barking dogs, and what he hoped were fireworks, made him all the quicker to get to her door.

'Knock knock knockknock knock, Ding Dong'

Every second he waited it seemed like the terrifying noises around him were getting closer. He heard distant footsteps coming from the trailer. The door swung open, and a not to pleased Marie stood in front of him. She was looking in the direction of what he guessed was a TV. Sounded like she was watching wrestling.

"What do you want?" she barked, still not knowing who exactly she was talking to.

"Um... hello Marie". She turned her head seemingly shocked at hearing Edd's voice. He pulled out his gift. "Happy birthday".

"Double D! I was totally joking about getting me a gift! Why would you do that"?

"Well, if you don't want it" he said as he began to put the present back into his bag.

"No no no I want it!" Marie snatched it from his hands. "Well come in." she said with a giggle. Marie's Trailer was a lot cleaner on the inside then it was on the outside. "Would you like something to drink?" pointing to her refrigerator. Edd merely shook his head.

"Where's your mother Marie"?

"She got a huge promotion at her job. Makes a lot of money now, so of course she's out looking for things to buy". Marie was headed down a hallway where the source of whatever she was watching was coming from. "Sorry about the mess. I'm not as clean as my mom". Indeed she was not. Marie's room was very cluttered, things in every corner. She stood in the middle of it completely engulfed by the wrestling match on her television, which made Edd all the more proud of his gift. "Yeahhh!" Marie shrieked as the match ended. Afterwords she looked at Edd, clearly embarrassed. "I'm so sorry. I've always been a little to into wrestling". She jumped on her bed and motioned for Edd to join her. She shook the package as if she had no idea what it was. She excitedly ripped the paper off, and her face lit up like Edd had never seen before. She screamed and wrapped her arms around Edd. "How did you know to get me this shirt Double D"? Edd had managed to get a T-shirt of wrestling Faction The Shield for her.

"At the library. When your bag spilled I saw the wrestling magazine and the pin. I did a little research and found this. I'm sorry about the size. It was the last one and they only had mediums left".

"That's fine, I'm going to go put it on. Hang on here for a second". Marie dashed quickly into another room. Edd, alone in her room took a look around. He had never been in a girl's room before, much less a girl like Marie. All around the room he saw stacks of Comics and books. On her bed she had a Nintendo 3DS with boxes for Pokemon and Fire Emblem next to it, a card game called Boss Monster, posters for Jurassic Park and some bands named War of Ages and The Gazette. DVDs stacked surprisingly neat of Boy meets world, Supernatural, Teen Wolf, third Rock from the Sun and a whole lot of Anime. He even saw a Camera next to a sketch pad. It amazed him how different their interests were, yet they could now get along so well.

Marie excitedly returned to the room now wearing her new shirt. She did a little twirl.

"I love it. Thank you so much Double D. You have no idea what this means to me".

"I'm just glad you like it. I had no idea what you would like". Marie jumped back onto her bed next to Double D.

"You know you didn't need to do this. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you did. But you really didn't have to."

"It's the least I could do after you've been so nice about loaning me your books". Edd realized now that Marie had applied some make up while she was gone. "So. Could you explain to me why they're called the Shield"? Marie practically jumped on him when he said that.

"They're the Shield from injustice! They...I can't explain it to someone who doesn't watch. She turned to her laptop, which was actually hooked up to her TV, and opened a few videos. "You're going to sit here with me and watch some matches. I know it's really not your thing, but trust me, you'll love it". Her television screen had a picture of three men in swat like gear. Speaking truthfully it did seem rather interesting to him. So he decided to stay and watch with her. After all, it was her birthday. You can't tell someone no on their birthday.

One hour turned into two and then three. Two bowls of popcorn and a dozen or so wrestling matches later she closed her computer.

"So, what ya think? Cool Huh"? What could he say, he actually really enjoyed watching with her. There was something so captivating about it.

"I must say Marie, I enjoyed watching with you".

"I knew you would. See how well I know you." She winked making Edd blush a bit. "As fun as it's been having you over, it is getting dark soon. You shouldn't be here at night. Never know what crazy people are out. You going to walk home"?

"I text Kevin a little while ago asking if he could swing by and get me. I helped him out with his car the other day so he owes me one". 'Honk Honk' "Speak of the devil. Well I guess I'll be going Marie. Thank you for a wonderful evening and for spending your Birthday with me".

"No problem Oven mitt, come by anytime".She gave Edd one last hug and thanked him again for her shirt before he left. As he walked down to Kevin's car he turned back and waved one last time before getting in.

"Never thought I'd see you coming out of Marie Kanker's place. What were you guys doing?" Kevin asked with clear intentions of what he really meant.

"Just, two friends spending the day together Kevin. Nothing else".

Once Kevin dropped Edd off home he saw Mr Golden saying goodbye to some people.

"Mr. Golden, how'd the house do"?

"I think we got some real interest in the old girl. Can't imagine it'll be long before she's sold". As much as Edd would miss them, he loved the thought of new neighbors. Someone new to the neighborhood.

**AN: Thank you to everybody who has taken the time to read, review, follow or favorite my story. It means the world! This chapter was written in a day, I'm sure I missed some stuff so please don't mind the little errors. Is it bad to put up two chapters in a span of 3 days? Hope not. Anyways, hope you enjoy :)**


	4. Chapter 4

For the past three days, Edd had been dealing with illness. He had somehow contracted a nasty flu and could barely find the strength to get out of bed. Having now regained most of his strength he could finally get up and enjoy the remaining two days of his summer vacation. He had ordered some model kits while bedridden that should have arrived today. After getting dressed, he descended the stairs to check the mail, finding that his kits had indeed arrived. A smiling Edd read the labels of the packages and quickly sorted through the rest of the mail, which were mostly things addressed to his parents. Edd's smile only grew larger however, as he saw Ed charging towards him, screaming of his joy.

"Double D, You're back! Oh how I've missed you!" Ed was inadvertently squeezing the life from him with his freakish strength.

"I've been home for days Ed. Sorry I haven't been able to reach you". Ed was not even pretending to pay attention to what Edd was saying, instead, he was running frantically in a circle laughing. Seeing the genuine joy his friend had for seeing him brought a great feeling to Edd. "Oh! Ed, I almost forgot, I got you a gift over the summer. Hold on one moment please". Edd went and grabbed a bag from his bedroom and quickly returned to a bouncing Ed who was repeating 'Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy presents'. "I found this at a market in Europe. Can't remember exactly where. Not sure if you're familiar with this particular series, but it looked like something you'd enjoy". Ed, not wasting any time, ripped through the bag, and upon seeing its contents he completely freaked out. Edd had gotten his friend very rare copies of a discontinued television show called "Porcelain Guardian and the Toilet Titans" (so old and rare they were actually still on VHS) and with a name as completely absurd as that one, he knew his friend would love it. Jumping with joy Ed again hugged, and crushed, his friend.

"Thank you Double D! Now I have my best buddy and the Toilet Titans! You can come over and I'll have someone to spend time with again!".

"What about Eddy? Didn't you spend any time with him over the summer Ed?". Ed's smile faded and turned into an angry frown.

"No. Eddy is naughty and not good for Ed". Edd wasn't sure what to make of Ed's reaction to Eddy. Should he ask? No, it would probably be better not to. They'd all see each other in a few days at school anyways. Not wanting the situation to deteriorate any more, he said goodbye to Ed and told him once he had a day off of work they could watch the show together. This of course made Ed very happy again. Fondling his gift, Ed rushed off to work while excitedly reading the descriptions of the show. Edd watched his friend off and in turn noticed something in Eddy's room window. He squinted to get a better look and it was Eddy, not looking to pleased at Edd. He shyly waved to his friend, who in turn closed his blinds.

"Oh dear.", Edd was growing more and more worried about the situation with Eddy. Not wanting to dwell on it, he decided to just forget about it for now and head inside.

As Edd was walking up the paved path to his front door, Edd heard his name called. Upon looking to see who it was, he was delighted to see it was Mr. Golden.

"Eddward, good morning!" said a particularly perky Mr. Golden who was heading out his front door waving to Edd.

"Oh, good morning Mr. Golden. How is the house sale going?", said Edd.

"Over. Just got off the phone with the buyer. The family is insisting on moving in before the new school year starts. So the Mrs. and I are packing up and heading out!", replied an ecstatic Mr. Golden. Edd was glad they were able to sell the house but above all, bummed out that Mr. Golden would be leaving. He always enjoyed the talks they had. When Edd was younger and his parents had to travel for work, Mr and Mrs. Golden would watch him along with a large number of the other neighborhood kids. They were great neighbors and he would really miss them. "Don't worry Eddward. We'll be around if you ever need to talk about anything". Mr. Golden grabbed the for sale sign and took it inside. Although faced with loosing his long time neighbors, Edd was still excited about meeting the new family that would, apparently, be moving in within the next two days. They wanted to be moved in by the time school starts, so it's safe to assume they have a child. Edd wondered if he or she would be his age.

_An hour later_

Getting to a later start then he was used to Edd, quickly ate some cereal before looking over what chores he had given himself to do today. Wash and iron cloths, rake the backyard, and wash the dishes. Edd absolutely dreaded washing dishes. There weren't many due to him being the only one home, but he couldn't stand his fingers getting pruney. He wanted to get that one over and done with quick, so that's where he started. Just as he began to wash the last dish, '_Crash'_! The glass shattered and sliced his hand up pretty bad. Thankfully, due to all the time he spent dealing with the crazy, and a lot of times dangerous, scams he took a part in years ago, he was used to fixing up cuts, bruises, and things of that nature. He went to his room and in his dresser drawer labeled "Medical Supplies" he grabbed what he needed to clean, disinfect, and wrap the cut. "Not a great start the day, Edd".

Back in his kitchen he carefully cleaned the sink of all glass and disposed of it. However his bad luck continued as he slipped on a wet patch on the floor. He fell onto his kitchen table, unscathed, but in the process, he spilled over the remainder of his milk onto the floor. Which meant he now had to run out and buy some more. "Perfect", said an irritated Edd.

Today Edd had planned on sitting in his room building his models. Instead, he slices his hand open and has to waste time running out to the store in this heat just to pick up some milk. Needless to say, he was not in a fantastic mood. The store being completely packed didn't help him improve any either. Careless people bumping into him, getting their filth all over him. At this point he was ready to just go home and sleep until school started. Thankfully the lines were short and he was out fairly quick. Edd stopped walking when he felt his phone vibrate. It was a text from his father.

_Hello son, sorry we haven't reached you in a few days. Just wanted to let you know we're going to be here a few days longer then we thought. This place is in worse shape then we originally thought. We'll be sure to call you and see how school goes. Love you!_

Edd thought his mood couldn't get any worse. He knew his parents job required a lot of their time, and he knew they loved him and wanted to be home more, but being home alone all the time was starting to take a toll on him. Edd was so upset over the news he hadn't even realized that he had been standing on the sidewalk staring at his phone so long that people started gathering and staring at him. One person who wanted to see what the commotion was about was Marie, who happened to be going back to the trailer park. She immediately noticed Edd's expression and went over to him.

"Okay you freaks, get away. Shoe shoe, before I get mad.", said Marie while ushering the onlookers down the sidewalk. Edd finally came to and noticed the large group of people walking away and Marie, looking worried, standing beside him.

"Hello Marie. When did you get here?", said Edd with a flare of melancholy.

"Um...just now. Everything okay Double D?", Marie replied.

Edd closed his phone and nodded his head, trying to put on a smile. He needn't worry Marie with his petty troubles.

"You know you can come and talk to me if you need to right? Because you better, or I'll have to make you!", Marie said with a smirk.

"I know Marie. I promise you nothing is wrong. Just a little distracted was all. Nothing to worry about". Marie clearly wasn't buying it.

"That's a load of bull Double D, its written all over your face that something is bothering you. Look, if you need to talk about it later, I'm all ears. I hate to cut it short, but Mom needs my help with stuff back home. It's getting crazy over there.", said Marie. Getting ready to leave, Marie happened to look down and see Edd's bandaged hand. "Oh god, what happened to your hand?", said a concerned Marie.

Edd in turn looked down as well and offered a small chuckle. "Oh this? It's not nearly as bad as it looks. I simply dropped a glass in the sink and got a little cut up. I assure you it's fine."

Marie grabbed his hand and gave it a kiss. Edd's face went red as a tomato.

"You're the smart one, your supposed to know NOT how to get hurt!", Marie said with a giggle. "Look, I'll see ya soon, and we're not done talking about this Edd!". Marie smiled and began walking home. Edd wiped his face and tried to compose himself before continuing to head back.

The rest of Edd's day didn't go exactly as planned. When he returned home from shopping he ended up helping Mr. and Mrs. Golden pack their stuff into boxes so they could head over to their new, much smaller house. By the afternoon they had everything packed up and they were gone. They told him the new neighbors would be moving stuff in by the end of the day. He was excited to be able to meet them, but at the same time didn't really care. His dad's text was still bugging him. Sure it wasn't the first time this had happened and it surly wouldn't be the last, but lately Edd's really needed his parents around.

Once everything had quieted down Edd was finally able to get his models out and start putting them together. No way he'd be able to finish tonight though, with all the distractions he faced earlier in the day. And the new ones he was about to face. '_Knock Knock'._ Edd wasn't expecting any visitors today. Maybe it was Ed wanting to start watching his new show? He got up from the living room table where he had set up his kits and answered the door.

Opening the door, he was obviously surprised at the blue haired visitor.

"Told you I'd see ya soon!", Much to Edd's shock Marie was standing in his doorway. "So you going to invite me in?".

"Oh, of course. Please come in". It had been years since Marie was in his home, and the first time he had ever willingly let her in. She was looking around, seemingly in awe over everything. She made her way to the table where he was building his models. Marie picked up one of the boxes.

"Dinobots? Had no idea you were into that kind of thing Double D. They look awesome but those movies are all garbage". She was right, the transformers movies were awful, but all the years watching terribly made movies with Ed and Eddy, he started to secretly love the "so bad they're good" types of movies.

"So Marie, May I inquire as to why you come all the way out here to visit?", asked Edd

Marie saw this as a perfect chance to mess with Edd a little. She looked him in the eyes and started to pout.

"You're not happy to see me?", said Marie while maintaining her sad expression.

"Not at all! It's just that it's a ways out from your home, and it's getting...". Edd was cut off when he saw the moving truck pulling up next door. Marie looked out as well.

"New neighbors?", asked Marie while pointing back with her thumb.

"Yes. Apparently they have a child going to school with us. I was hoping to introduce myself before they got to busy. Excuse me for a moment please". Edd raced out his front door and headed over to the moving truck, which already had a few people taking boxes into the house. A women, just taller then Edd with dark blonde hair walked out. "Hello. Are you the family moving in"?

"I am. Who are you?", replied the blonde woman.

"My name is Eddward, I am you new neighbor. I wanted to come introduce myself before you got to busy unpacking".

"How sweet of you young man. It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Diana. Are your parents around"?

"I'm afraid not. Their work requires them to travel most of the time. I'm sure they'll introduce themselves as soon as they return".

"That sounds great! Now if you'll excuse me, I have to make sure these lug heads don't drop any of our stuff". Diana seemed like a nice women. She looked really familiar as well, but Edd couldn't put his finger on it...

"You meet your new neighbors"? Edd hadn't even noticed Marie walk up next to him.

"I did. Her name is Diana. She seems nice". As he said that Diana came back outside.

"Marie, want to pick which room is yours"?

"Yeah, I'm coming. Well, I got a lot of stuff to do Double D. I'll see you later...neighbor"! Marie ran inside what was apparently her new home. It took a minute, but everything suddenly registered in Edd's head. Marie saying her mom had gotten a big promotion at work. That's why Diana looked so familiar. This is what Marie was busy with all day. Edd stood with his jaw practically hitting the ground. Marie was his neighbor. Never in his life did he expect something like this to happen. He and Marie had grown a lot closer as friends since he returned, and with her next door now he would always have a friend around.

_This was a good thing, right?_

"Hey Double D! I can see into your room from here!", Marie yelled from her new bedroom window. He couldn't help but smile as he headed back to his house.


	5. Chapter 5

'What a crazy day' Edd thought to himself. Marie living next door. Never did he imagine something like this would transpire. Had this happened years ago surely it would be a nightmare, but he and Marie were closer than ever. He could say she was one of his better friends now, so he had no issue with her being so close. Edd looked out his living room window and still saw at least half a dozen men carrying things into the house. Based on the size of their trailer he was surprised by how much stuff they actually had, especially now that it was just the two of them living together. Well, since Marie's mother got a big enough promotion that she was able to afford a house it's not crazy to think she went out and bought a lot of things to fill it with. Still, they've been at it for over two hours.

It was dark out and normally around this time Edd was getting ready for bed, but tonight he really wasn't feeling the least bit sleepy. He didn't want to stay up late and ruin his schedule the day before going back to school, but at the same time there was no point in laying down for hours if he wasn't tired. He neatly tidied up the area he was building his model and went up to his bedroom to relax for a bit. From his room window he saw the moving truck in Marie's driveway finally leaving, he could also see boxes of Marie's stuff piled all over her room. Upon realizing how creepy staring into her bedroom looked he quickly turned his head and focused on his desk. He had found very nice containers he could display his models in and was carefully trying to fit the one he finished into one of them.

'**Knock knock**' Edd, thinking he was hearing things, ignored the quiet knocking sound. But then he heard it again, and again.

"Double D, open your window!" he heard someone yell from outside. He should have figured who it was. Marie was out on the balcony outside her room waving at him. He opened his window to see what she wanted.

"Hello Marie, how's the unpacking going"?

"It's dull. I found my box with all my movies in it, I was going to take a break for the night and watch some. Care to join me"? Edd knew he wouldn't be able to sleep for a while so hanging out with Marie could be a nice way to pass the time.

"I'd love to". Marie excitedly jumped and grabbed some cloths and movies from a box next to her.

"I'll be over in a few!" Edd headed downstairs to greet her. He could see Marie leaving her house talking with her mother. Before she headed over she gave her a kiss. He had no idea the kind of relationship Marie had with her mother so it was nice to see they seemingly got along well. He opened his door for her to come in, "Hiya puddin", Marie had changed into pajamas and had a backpack filled with movies. "Wasn't sure what you'd be in the mood for so I grabbed a bunch". They entered the living room where Edd had a 60 inch TV. They laid the movies out so they could decide what they'd watch. Edd saw a bunch of movies he loved in the pile. He wanted to watch something new though. He saw all the movies of the Dark Knight trilogy. He had never watched and heard nothing but praise for them. Marie also made a move for them. They're hands touched as they both went to pick them up, instantly causing Marie to throw her hand back and look away to avoid showing her slight blush. Edd reacted similarly. "So, I guess we want these." Marie packed the rest of the movies up and handed Edd the first disk.

"Would you like a refreshment Marie"?

"Such a gentlemen. I'd love some water." Edd entered the kitchen and retrieved some water for his guest. "Hey Double D, you don't happen to have any popcorn do you"?

"Already have it in the microwave". Edd suspected she'd want some based off the last time they hung out at her trailer watching wrestling. She made her way through almost three bags of it with little help from him. When the popcorn was finished he tossed Marie a water bottle and sat besides her on his couch. Edd couldn't help but let out a chuckle before the movie started, which caught Marie's attention.

"Something funny"?

"Oh nothing. I was just remembering the last time we were sitting here watching TV". Marie had to think about it for a second but ended up laughing herself. She and her sisters had each gotten into the Ed's houses and forced them on "dates". Edd and Marie had a movie date. They both laughed remembering how their relationship was when they were younger.

They didn't really talk while the movie was on. He enjoyed it a lot. Edd had never read a comic before so he didn't have any idea what to expect. He was pleasantly surprised.

"Did you like it?" Marie asked excitedly. It was obvious she really wanted him to say yes.

"I thought it was great.", he replied with a smile.

"Great! It's the worst of the three too. So I guess you'll love the other two". Marie looked at the clock in Edd's living room. It was just about midnight. "So. I guess you'll probably want me to head home now huh"? Edd saw that it was almost midnight. He still wasn't the least bit tired.

"I have no issue with you staying and watching the rest of the movies Marie, but won't your mother worry"? Marie laughed.

"I'm right next door Double D. She won't worry. I asked her how late I could be over and she said she didn't care. So I guess you're stuck with me all night".

"Well. I wouldn't say stuck. Would you like some more", before Edd could finish his sentence Marie was holding out the bowl that had popcorn in it. Edd smiled and went to the kitchen to refill it.

Time flew by as he sat watching the movies with Marie. At one point, when Marie had started getting tired, she started using Edd as a leg rest while she laid down. Normally Edd would ask her to remove her feet from him, but he was so into the movies he didn't really care. Plus, she looked comfy and he didn't want to make her move.

The last movie was finished, Edd was pleased with the trilogy and happy he had finally watched it. He looked over at Marie, she was sound asleep. She had fallen asleep midway through the last movie. He didn't know what to do now that it was over though. Did he wake her up so she could go home or just let her sleep on the couch... She looked to comfortable to wake up. Besides, he was honestly terrified of what she might do if he woke her up. Edd went to his upstairs closet and got a blanket and pillow. Being very gentle he got the pillow behind her head without a problem. When he placed the blanket over her she tugged on it, forcing Edd to fall her. It didn't wake her, but she now had her arms wrapped around his body and didn't seem like she was going to let go. With how tired he was, he honestly considered just laying there with her. But, with some skillful maneuvering he managed to free himself. It was a little after 5AM. Edd sluggishly made his way to his bed and immediately passed out.

**Beep beep**! Edd slapped his hand on his alarm clock. He knew he'd regret staying up all night. He threw off his blanket and opened his eyes.

"Hiya.", Marie said hovering over Edd. It took a second but Edd had a brief panic attack. Marie, who thought it was the funniest thing, calmed him down. "Chill Edd. I just heard your alarm go off and wanted to freak you out. Didn't think you'd be so unhappy to see me". Edd was a very cranky person when he didn't get enough sleep and so he wanted nothing to do with Marie's antics right now. He went straight into his bathroom and washed his face, hoping it would wake him up a bit. When he returned to his room Marie was nowhere to be seen. He did however, smell something wonderful coming from the kitchen. "Hey cranky. Made you some coffee. Hope you don't mind". She handed Edd a cup of wonderful coffee. He immediately became more enjoyable company once he took a sip. "I take it you like it".

"Very much. Sorry about that. If I don't get enough sleep I can",

"Be a brat. I noticed.", Marie said cutting him off in her usual playful tone.

"Yes. I suppose that's the best way to describe it. So, would you like anything to eat"?

"Oh?" she replied with an excited inflection. "You're offering me breakfast? I wouldn't say no to a few pieces of toast".

"Coming right up". After a long night of watching movies they both enjoyed some conversation while eating breakfast. They talked about the summer, school starting tomorrow, Marie still having to unpack most of her stuff, her sisters, everything that came to their mind. *_Ring_* Edd's phone began ringing. The conversation was short and Edd looked a bit upset afterwords.

"Who was that? Everything okay?", she asked with a hint of worry.

"Yes, everything is fine. I just forgot I was supposed to fix a laptop for someone. They're picking it up later today and I still have a lot of work to do on it".

"So I should go then".

"It would probably help".

"Oh fine.", said Marie, trying to hide her obvious disappointment. "Thanks for breakfast. This was fun. We'll have to have some more sleepovers soon". After getting the desired reaction from Edd she walked over to the door, "Well aren't you going to open it for me"? Being the gentlemen he was Edd did indeed walk over and open the door for Marie, much to her delight. "Well I guess I'll see ya later". Marie wrapped herself around Edd and squeezed him before running off home. A few of the kids were out enjoying the last day of summer and took notice to Marie leaving Edd's house.

"Yeah Double D!" Kevin yelled from across the street. Edd payed no mind to him though, waving goodbye to Marie.

Marie walked into her house to see her mother sitting on the kitchen making some breakfast.

"Hey mom.", she said throwing her bag on the living room couch. Her mother was grinning ear to ear when she saw her daughter come in.

"So, you have fun all night with your boyfriend"? Marie angrily hid her face to avoid her mother see her blush.

"He's not my boyfriend mother"!

"Mhm, if you say so honey. I remember you used to never shut up about that boy. All three of you. You'd tortured those poor Ed boys everyday. Kind of surprised he's still talking to you. So what you two do all night"? Her mother's tone very clearly stated what she meant.

"Nothing you perv! We watched movies, ate popcorn, I fell asleep on the couch and in the morning he made breakfast".

"He made you breakfast? Wish I had someone to do that. Sounds like you were having fun, why'd you leave"?

"He had work to do and I'd just distract him, so I left".

"Well don't worry dear, I'm sure he wasn't actually going to meet up with some girl or anything like that". Marie's mother loved nothing more then messing with her daughter. Clearly Marie was having none of it right now and went up to her room. As soon as she walked in she looked at her phone. She left it here last night and missed a few calls.

"Why didn't you answer my calls last night!" a nasally high pitched voice on the other line screamed.

"I was at Double D's last night, didn't bring my phone".

"What!? You spent the night at Double D's"?

"Nothing happened May. We watched movies and I passed out on his couch. I just got back home".

"So are you two like, dating now"?

"No! I just had to deal with mom I'm not doing this again".

"Okay okay, sorry. So...did you make a move"? Marie ended the call, not feeling like dealing with May right now. She jumped into her bed. Though it was so cluttered she could barely fit on it. She couldn't stop thinking about last night. Her phone started going off.

"Damn it May".


	6. School: Day One

Tomorrow's the day. The return to school. Edd has enjoyed his summer tremendously but as always couldn't wait for school to begin again. As he always does, he prepared everything he needed for tomorrow in advance. His outfit cleaned, ironed, and hanging. His bag fitted with all the supplies he would need, and arranged for Kevin to give him a lift to school (Edd wasn't overly fond of public transportation. Germs and all that). Edd felt good. Like. Like today was the beginning of something. A new chapter in his life. Unfortunately, he didn't know just how right he was.

Edd was cleaning the last bit of the living room. Due to the festivities he and Marie had it was a little dirtier than usual. _KrRaKkaBoomM__m__! _Something came flying through Edd's living room window! Whatever it was smashed right into his arm (the same one he cut earlier). There was a sickening pain in his arm, he feared it was broken. He forced his way back to his feet to see if there was anything outside the now shattered window. With his vision blurry from the pain he couldn't make out much of anything, although he thought he saw someone running away. But there was no way for him to be sure.

After a minute had passed he got himself sitting on a chair and was able to look at his arm. It looked bad. Shards of glass were sticking out of him. Thankfully no big pieces, nothing he couldn't handle taking care of.

"Eddward are you alright!", Edd looked back out the window and saw Diana. She looked petrified. "What happened, are you alright?" she was practically screaming at him.

"I'm okay Diana, nothing I can't patch up." he tried to reassure her but she was having none of that.

"Shut up and let me in so I can look at you!" This was nothing Edd couldn't handle himself, but Diana was adamant on making sure he was okay. It was nice to know she cared.

Diana carefully pulled out the shards stuck in Edd's arm. She let him bandage it back up himself. There was a nasty bruise, but the bone wasn't broken. They had found the object that smashed threw the window laying on the couch. It was a brick. Someone actually shot a brick into his window. Diana insisted that he called the police, however he refused. Not a whole lot they could do, he didn't see anyone. He was sure it was just some hoodlum doing hood rat things. Diana cleaned up all the mess for Edd. She refused to let him lift a finger while she was there.

"Alright. Everything looks good now. Make sure you leave ice on that all night. I really think you should have called the cops, but whatever. You're okay, for the most part, and that's what matters. Marie will be relieved." Marie? Did she know something happened? "She heard the shatter and tried running right over. Didn't think it was safe so I made her stay inside". Edd showed a little grin, and Diana took notice. "I can send her over if you want. Sure she could help you feel better". Edd turned bright red. He definitely saw where Marie got her charm...

Edd took some pain killers before he tried laying down. They helped, but it was still unbearable and he got little sleep at all. All this the night before school started. Well. At least the first day never usually required much thought. Hopefully it would fly by.

6:AM. Edd's alarm went off. He immediately smashed his hand on it. He was already awake and not in a pleasant mood. His arm barely felt any better and didn't get three hours of sleep. Plus he was going to have to re-bandage his arm after his shower. Hopefully people didn't ask what happened. Showered, re-bandaged, and wearing his school cloths slightly improved Edd's mood. He sluggishly made his way downstairs for some breakfast. Like always he made himself some eggs, pancakes, toast, and some orange juice. He was just about finished when he heard a knock on his door. Edd assumed it would be Ed. He had always liked stopping by in the mornings. But to his surprise It was Marie. She looked worried. Obviously because of what happened last night.

"Good morning Marie. How are",

"Don't "how are you" me", she interrupted, "how's your arm? What the hell happened last night"? She was using the same demanding voice her mother used. It was scary how alike they were. But before he could reply she grabbed his arm and started yelling. Edd tried to explain that he was okay. Should have known it wouldn't do any good. After a moment she did manage to calm down a bit. "Sorry. I know how you are in the morning and me coming over screaming at you probably didn't help any. Anyways, you're taking the bus to school right"?

"Actually no. I asked Kevin if he could drive me".

"Let me guess. All the filthy germs right?" she said in her most mocking voice. But she wasn't wrong, buses are filthy germ infested cesspools. "How about we walk instead"? The walk to school was only 10 or so minutes. So Edd had no problem walking. He sent Kevin a text and he and Marie headed out. For being 6:30 it was surprisingly warm out. "Do you really think it's safe to just leave your house like that? All you did was put a tarp over the window. Not exactly a great security measure".

"True. But it was all I had at the time. Your mother said she'd keep an eye out on the house until I got back. I have to get a replacement later today. Rolf said he'd help me put it in".

"Good. You shouldn't be doing _anything_ with that hand". Marie gave a devious look.

"Oh grow up Marie". She laughed at Edd's reaction, as she usually did. Edd wouldn't admit it but he actually enjoyed the odd back and forth he and Marie would have from time to time. He always knew she was just joking around so he could never take the things she said seriously. _Beep beep! _Some car had honked while driving next to the two.

"Yeah Double D!" yelled the driver as he sped by. It was Kevin.

"Ugh, I can't stand that guy". Marie and Kevin never got along. Their personalities just wouldn't let them be in the same room as each other. "Why's he even going to school this early"?

"He plays basketball in the gym before class starts".

"Oh! Can't believe I didn't ask. What's your schedule? Let's see if we have any classes together". Their school schedules were made up so they had four periods a day and four different days, A/C and B/D. "Looks like we have lunch together on A/C days and Study Hall on B/D. Well, at least it's something". Marie looked noticeably upset at their lack of classes. Edd knew Marie didn't get along with a ton of people. She was easy to irritate, so to speak. The walk to school went quick as Marie described a movie she watched last night to him. Pan's labyrinth. Certainly not the kind of thing he would ever watch. Alone, anyways.

The school buses were arriving and kids were excitedly running to hug and say hi to their friends they've not seen over the summer.

"Double D"! The call came from Edd's perky blonde friend Nazz, who had wrapped herself around him. She was the one person he actually hadn't gotten a chance to see since getting home. "Dude, I missed you all summer. You have to tell me all about it soon alright"? Edd promised they'd get together soon and catch up.

"Forgot how much blondy liked you", Edd rolled his eyes.

Edd's first class was History, one of his favorite subjects. When he found the class he saw Rolf sitting in one of the front row tables (two people to each table).

"Double D Edd boy, come, sit with Rolf"! Rolf not being from the United States Edd knew he would be entertaining to have in this class. The students pilled in quick. Kevin and Nazz were also in the class. The teacher was the last one to show up. He was a pretty young guy, couldn't be older then 26. He held a cup of coffee in one hand and was wheeling in a cart filled with books in the other.

"Good morning class", he said after taking a huge gulp of his coffee. "My name is Mr. West, but most of you knew that. You can call me that, or Adam, I truthfully don't care ether way". Mr. West was the teacher of 10th grade history last year and moved up with them, so most kids in his class had him the year earlier. "Alright. So today is the first day back. Normally that means we do nothing but talk about what we're going to do the rest of the year. But let's be different. How about I give you your first assignment". The class collectively moaned. "Ah. Better then coffee... Alright, so your first assignment is to find a tradition of any other country you find interesting and write about it. Simple right? Doesn't even have to be that long. Just get your minds turning a little bit. These books will help you figure out which traditions you want to write about. They're all different so don't try copying off your neighbor". Mr. West started passing out books to each of the students.

"Rolf needs no book! He will write of the all important tradition of the _Passing of the goat _from his home country". Mr. West smiled. He was never shy about talking about how Rolf was his favorite student. Mostly because of the odd way he spoke and the crazy stories and customs of his home country. The rest of class was spent looking through books and each student finding something that was mildly entertaining to them. Edd of course finished his in no time and spent a lot of the class listening to Rolf talk about his home. The hour and a half class went by very quick and the kids were off to second period. Edd and Rolf walked out together talking of the punishments of not returning someones goat, which apparently was 2 bags of beans, 5 pigs, and a turnip.

After his brief exchange with his friend, Edd hurried to locate his locker. The students there would have the same locker the first two years then get a new one for the later half. He didn't understand it himself, he saw no reason to switch lockers, but it wasn't a big deal. Although, finding it was a bit of a hassle. His locker, number 34, was right across from the art room. It was a little inconvenient for him, most of his classes were on the other side of the school. Not wanting to be late he made what exchanges in books he needed and made his way to his second period class. Or, he tried to at least. _SLAM_! Edd was shoved right into his locker, with his bad arm taking the front of the blow. He dropped his books and fell to the floor. Luckily some nearby kids helped him up and assisted him to the nurse.

"Eddward, this is a very nasty bruise. How in the world you get it?"inquired the schools nurse Mrs. J.

"Oh, you know, goofing around with friends. Just an accident." Eddward felt no need to inform the nurse of what had really happened. She couldn't give Edd any painkillers but re-bandaged it and taped a bag of ice on it. "Thank you Mrs. J.".

"No problem sweetie. Did yo see who it was that shoved you in the hallway"?

"I'm afraid not. I'd better hurry to class. Have a good day". Truth be told Edd did know who shoved him. He just didn't want to think about it. Or what it meant about last night.

Second period English came and went quick. Being the first day nothing to intense was given out, mostly just an overview of the next couple of projects and books they would be reading (all of which Edd had already read). His third period AP Physics class was much the same. They went over the summer work they had been given and that was about it. When lunch came around Edd was more than ready for a break. Hopefully things would get more enjoyable as the days went on.

"Hey Double D". To Edd's delight Marie showed up just as he had found a table to eat his lunch at.

"Hello Marie. How's your day going"?

"Boring. I'm already fed up with the kids and want to go home and get in my pajamas. How about you, wait, why's there an ice pack taped to your arm? Did you hurt it already"?

"Someone fell into me in the hallway and I smashed it into my locker. No big deal, the nurse insisted I wear the ice pack". He didn't want to tell her someone shoved him into his locker. He knew how Marie could get, and she would get mad. He began eating the salad he packed himself while Marie ate the "food" the cafeteria was giving out. They made small talk but since their lunch was only 30 minutes they had to pack back up and head to their last class of the day. Marie had an art class while Edd had study hall. He decided to spend it in the library looking ahead in his Physics book. The library was surprisingly full for it being the first day, only one or two tables available for him to sit.

30 minutes into the hour and a half period and Edd had worked through the third chapter of the book and showed no sign of slowing down.

"Excuse me." he heard a quiet voice say. Edd looked up from his book and saw a girl standing over him.

"Hello. Is there something I can assist you with"? The girl looked very scared. Trembling even.

"Um... yes, may I...may I sit here please?" she slowly stuttered out. "All the other tables are taken". Edd was reminded of how he himself used to be while talking to her. A stuttering nervous mess. Obviously he wanted to make her feel welcome and be polite so he insisted she sit with him. The young lady was a tad shorter then Edd and had long bright red hair wrapped into a pony tail and glasses. Edd has always loved red hair and took notice of hers immediately.

"Of course you may sit here." Edd moved his bag and the books he had scattered across the table to make room for her. "My name is Eddward, Edd or Double D for short, and you are"?

"Anna." she stumbled out nervously as she pulled her books and notebook out. Edd looked at the books she pulled out and noticed she also had an AP Physics book.

"Oh, you're also in AP Physics"? She nodded her head, smiling slightly. "It's nice to see someone else use their free time to get ahead of their school work. Most just use these periods to sleep". Edd looked around the library where almost half the students had nodded off.

"The cafeteria was way to loud to get anything done so I ran here (fourth period study hall was held in the cafeteria). I figured it would be the quietest place in the school". Neither of them said another word until the class was over. While they were packing up she finally spoke again. "Thank you for letting me sit with you Eddward".

"Think nothing of it Anna. Anytime you need a place to sit feel free to find me". Anna smiled and walked out of the library with Edd not far behind. He had to make a quick stop at is locker before beginning his walk home.

Marie was exiting her art class as Edd arrived at his locker."Hey Double D. You walking me home today"?

"Of course I am Marie". Marie looked broken and tired.

"I don't get how you are so peppy after school. How do you enjoy this"?

"Didn't you just have art class? I thought you'd be happy having that as your last period".

"I do love art, but the teacher is a pain. "Do this the way I'm doing, every other way is wrong". Ugh, I want to punch her". Marie rested her head on Edd's shoulder. He patted it, all the while laughing at Marie's melodramatic acting.

They quickly reached their street and Marie was ongoing about how much food she needed to eat when she got home.

"Finally! Now I can eat something". Marie ran up to her door and noticed a rather large package. "Oh sweet, it got here early"! Curious, Edd walked over and looked at the package.

"What is it"?

"5,000 Magic the Gathering cards. Got um on Ebay".

"Why on earth would you order 5,000 cards"?

"Because they look awesome and I love them. Now, if you'll excuse me. I'm going to make myself a feast while separating them. Have fun shopping for your window". Jeez. Somehow Edd had forgotten about that. He gave Rolf a call and asked him when he would have time to help. He said he was on his way over now. This was the last thing Edd wanted to spend his day doing, but having Rolf there to help out made it tolerable. They could continue their conversation on Rolf's odd traditions and customs. So it wouldn't be all bad.


	7. School: The Second Day

With Rolf's help replacing the glass in his window was done in no time. It actually took longer picking out the glass then it did installing it. As a thank you to his friend for spending the past two hours helping him, Edd made Rolf dinner. Rolf wasn't a complex person so he was fine just having corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, and rice, which was fantastic because Edd was so drained from the mind numbing day at school to do anything.

"And that is why the Barber is considered a man among men in Rolf's home country"!

"Absolutely fascinating Rolf. Your home sounds like such an interesting place. Would you like some desert"?

"Please, yes. Rolf would very much enjoy something sweet". Edd walked over to his fridge to get out some Quiche he had been meaning to eat.

"Would you mind explaining again why eat grass and chew soil"?

"Silly Edd boy, the..." Rolf stopped and stared at the quiche Edd pulled out of the fridge. Eyes wide and sweating, Edd wasn't sure what was happening.

"Rolf? Are you alright"? Rolf started flailing about and screaming in a language foreign to Edd. He ran out of the house screaming something about "The Cursed food". Edd looked intently at his quiche, not understanding the evil of it. But he thought it was best not to try and put logic behind Rolf and his ways and ate the quiche himself.

Edd looked at his clock, it was _4:30, _still so early in the day. Edd wasn't sure what to do with himself. He had gotten far enough in his Physics book for today at school, had ate dinner already, and no homework or books to read. Edd had a pretty one tracked mind. When he thought of doing something it became the only thing he wanted to devote his time to. He had studied up on gardening and ordered some very, very expensive foreign plant seeds. He wanted to begin his garden, but his father asked him to wait. One of the things he and his father shared was a love of gardening. They've built and managed many together. Edd's father hated how his constant travel and the harsh winters would leave nothing left of their gardens and talked to Edd about getting a greenhouse set up in their yard. Nothing extravagant, just something to have so they could enjoy having something in the winter. Edd had found a one for around 2000 dollars that was very nice for the price. He sent the details to his father but he hadn't gotten back to him about it yet. So until then he had no new project to start or anything fun to do really.

Edd went up to his room to check his email. He had decided a while ago to try to start his own business online. He fixed up computers for people. Stores like Best Buy horribly overcharged for repairs so he had a decent amount of business. Most of the computers he fixed were local, people in the area who could drop their stuff off to him and pick it up when he was done. Every now and again though he'd get mailed something. He offered to pay all shipping costs for his costumers as a way to draw in more business. It was a good move, and had drawn three more people to him today. He had emails from three different people who wanted to send him their computers. Normally the people who were willing to mail out their computers had serious issues with it. It won't turn on, shuts off after 5 minutes, things like that. To save them the trouble of having to mail it out, he would call each person and try and see if there was an easy fix he could help them with. These three were not such easy fixes unfortunately, so he was sent payment and they each mailed it out (express mail so they would get to him in the next day or two). So in the next day or so he had something fun to do (if you can call fixing computers fun). Edd laid across his bed, sun from the window hitting his face. He could go see if Kevin needed any help with his car. Maybe go out for some coffee or something with Nazz and catch up? Turns out there was quiet a few things he could do. For whatever reason he just didn't feel like it though. He just wanted to lay there in his bed. And that's what he did.

_12:43. _Edd awoke hours later, not remembering falling asleep. He was stunned at how long he had been out. He saw he had a few messages on his phone.

"_Hey man, you need a ride to school tomorrow"?_

Not thinking to much Edd responded to Kevin, who probably was long since asleep. Surprisingly, Edd was still exhausted and passed right back out.

_Ringggggg! _The morning bell at school was defining. Even after the hours of sleep Edd had gotten last night he was still in a grumpy morning mood. The first two periods of school were electives Edd had chosen, Culinary Arts and Forensics. Being the first day of class today was much like yesterday. Talking about what they were going to be doing. There weren't many familiar faces in the classes. Although while talking to Kevin this morning Edd found out they would have Gym together.

At his locker Edd got the books and such he would need for his Calculus class. He was hoping they would be doing something other than talk today, even if was just going over the summer work he had to do for the class. Bending down to get a new notebook Edd's hat dropped off his head. He went to grab it and he saw his locker slam shut. He looked up to an irritated Marie.

"Good mor",

"Don't good morning me! Where were you this morning? I walked to school all alone. Do you know what can happen to a pretty girl walking by herself that early? I could have been killed".

"I'm sorry Marie, truly I am. I got offered a ride and forgot about walking with you. You know I am in the morning".

"Well. Good to see who's important to you".

"Rest assured, tomorrow, if you'd like, I'd love to walk together".

"I don't know. I may get a ride and leave you all by yourself". Edd felt awful. He knew Marie was just messing around, for the most part, but still felt terrible that he forgot about her.

"How about as a way to say I'm sorry, tomorrow I make you some desert? Chocolate Fudge cake was your favorite if I recall correctly".

"I don't know. Maybe that would be nice.", Marie was trying her hardest to hide the smile showing on her face. "Why can't you do it today"?

"I got a call from the post office. Some computers arrived at my house. I have to fix them up. Would like to get it started tonight".

"What?! So you forgot"? Edd looked dumbfounded at Marie. Had he promised to do something? "You said you'd come chill at my house after school today. Said you would start watching Arrow with me". Edd had absolutely no memory of saying he would do that (probably because Marie was making it up).

"I'm sorry Marie. Perhaps we can reschedule"?

"Oh no no no Double D, you are not blowing me of twice. I don't care what you're doing, we're hanging out", Marie said, in a very assertive tone that Edd has become all to familiar with. "You can bring the computers you have to fix over to my house and work on them there". As usual Edd didn't feel like arguing with Marie. It would be harder to fix them while trying to entertain her, but, at least he would have company. She knew he was defeated and brushed her hand threw his hair, making it all messy and unkempt. "I forget how long your hair is sometimes. It's so cute. You should let it down sometimes", she waved as she walked off to her class. Edd tried to fix his hair and placed his hat back on before continuing to Calculus.

The class was not surprisingly, very small. Other than Edd there only five other students in the class so far. The teacher Mr. W. was writing something on the chalk board while humming something that sounded very familiar. Edd grabbed the seat closest to the front of the room for the best visibility of the board. He pulled out the summer work he had to do for the class and eagerly awaited for the class to begin. A handful of other students began walking in, including Anna, who he said hello to when she took the seat to his left. The desk to his right was taken by a boy who Edd had never seen. He introduced himself and the boy smiled and extended his hand for a handshake. The boy's nails were painted a bright red that matched his hair. That took Edd a little by surprise, which made the boy laugh.

This was the first class Edd had that really made him think. He always loved math and dug his teeth into what the teacher was saying. It helped that Mr. W. was a great teacher. Edd had heard that he was one of the better teachers in the school and was very excited to learn from him. Mr. W. had a kind of kooky charisma to him. When he talked, you couldn't help but to absorb every word he said. He also had a habit of making fun of his students when he could. Never in a mean way, always very playfully. He had already got Edd with a hat joke and the boy next to him with a quip about his nails. Both of which were hilarious. He could tell which students wouldn't like it, like Anna, and avoided picking on them. He let the class know that it was open season on him as well. He pointed to his bald head and short stature as inspiration.

In what seemed like no time at all the class was over and Edd was sitting in the lunch room eating his prepared lunch. Halfway through his salad he saw Ed running towards him.

"Double D"! Edd hadn't really seen Ed since he gave him those old videos before school started.

"Hello Ed, how are you enjoying school"? Ed's jolly expression was gone, and he began to pout.

"Oh Double D, school is bad! All the teachers are mean to me". Double D tried to reassure his friend that the teachers merely wanted Ed to live up to his potential. Ed however was convinced they were all aliens waiting to "devour his soul" as he put it. Ed spent the rest of the lunch period telling Edd about the Toilet titans and their crazy adventures. It actually peeked Edd's interest in checking it out.

Once lunch had ended Edd realized he didn't have to go anywhere as fourth period study hall was held in the cafeteria. He also realized that he would be spending the entirety of the rest of his day with Marie. He decided to run and use the facilities before class began. The bathrooms at the school were not the cleanest, but you can only hold it in so long.

Not many classes were held in this side of the school last period so the halls were mostly clear of activity and Edd was able to reach the bathroom quick. However, he wasn't alone. As he entered the facility he saw a familiar face. One he was hoping he would be able to avoid for a while.

"Um...h...hello Eddy". His "friend" locked his eyes on him and didn't move. A very clear anger was building in Eddy. His fists were clenched, he was grinding his teeth. Edd was legitimately afraid of what Eddy may be thinking about doing. The bell for class rang, and Eddy began towards Edd. He grabbed onto his shirt and,

"Hey boys, better get to class before you get detention". One of the security guards happened to be passing by. He saved Edd from whatever ill fate Eddy had in store for him. Edd only wished he knew exactly why his friend was so mad at him...

Edd practically sprinted to his study hall class and saw Marie sitting next to his backpack. She looked completely drained of life. Marie was very smart herself but she couldn't stand being in school most of the time. Edd made a quick stop at one of the vending machines in the cafeteria and got a large Hershey chocolate bar. He knew it was her favorite candy. When Edd arrived back Marie's head was flat down on the table. He tapped her head with the chocolate bar. Slowly she raised her head up to see what it was. Unsurprisingly the sight of it brought a new life into her.

"Oh my god, thank you Double D!", Edd had never seen someone enjoy chocolate so much. "This day just needs to end man. It's the second day of school and all these morons are already screaming at each other in the halls, "Get off my man", "You can't make him happy like I can". Ugh, just shoot me". Edd grabbed a small piece of the chocolate bar. The thing he liked most about Marie was how entertained he could be just by sitting near her. Her little rants were always rather entertaining.

Edd decided to finish off what little homework he had gotten today so he could focus on the computers. Marie made quick work of what homework she had as well, then pulled out a bunch of those cards she was talking about the other day. Edd had no idea what she was doing with them. She was making quiet a few different piles of them. He looked away from his books and finally asked her.

"Hey Marie, what are you doing"?

"Just separating these cards", she said, not taking her eyes off them. Edd got a closer look at them. She seemed to be separating them by color. "There are five different colors, White, Blue, Red, Black, and Green. Separating them like this just makes it easier to builds a deck".

"Are these the cards you got in the mail"?

"Nope. Still separating those at home. My buddy Justin gave me these. He has a ton of extra and didn't really need these". Justin, that name sounded familiar. His Calculus class! He thought he heard Mr. W. call the boy next to him Justin.

"Does he have red hair... and nails"?

"Yep. You know him"?

"Yes. He's in my Calculus class. Him and our teacher Mr. W. were taking shots at each other all class".

"Hahaha, yeah, he told me about that before I came here. He taught me to play this a while ago, never had a deck of my own though. It's going to crush everybody!", Marie said enthusiastically. So. Him and Marie were close then? Edd had no idea why that thought crossed his mind. Or why it upset him. Marie, for the first time, looked up from her cards with a raised eyebrow. "Don't look so jealous sweetie.", she said with a giggle. "He's been a good friend for a long time, more like a brother. So you don't have to worry about losing me", she rubbed his cheek with a devilish grin. He pushed it away and went back to his work while she just laughed. The rest of their study hall went more or less the same and as soon it was over and they were on their way home. "I'm so hungry! I need to make a few pounds of Ramen when I get home".

"What's Ramen"? Marie's jaw pretty much dropped to the ground. She got really close to his face.

"You've never had Ramen?! What is wrong with you"? Edd rarely sees her this serious. It was kind of frightening. "Well, I guess I'm making you dinner today." she said with an innocent smile. Edd stopped home to drop off his school supplies and grab one the computers and some stuff he would need to try and fix it. Two of them had problems similar to one he fixed recently so he knew they wouldn't take to long to figure out. With everything he needed he made his way to Marie's. The front door was wide open. Being the polite person he was he still knocked. "It's open for a reason Double D". This was his first time seeing the inside of her house. For just moving it it was surprisingly tidy. "Love you too mom". Marie threw her phone onto the dining room table. "Nice right"?

"Very". The decor and photos on the walls caught Edd's eye. Lots of pictures of Marie and her sisters with their mom. There was a picture of Marie before she started dying her hair blue.

"Don't look at that! I looked so bad back then". _Ding ding. _There was a timer going off in the other room. "Water's done boiling. Get yourself situated in my room if you'd like. Food will be done in a minute".

"You know you didn't have to",

"Oh shut up Double D.", Marie interrupted. "How many times have you done stuff like this for me? I'm making you dinner and you're going to love it". Marie ran to tend to the kitchen while Edd went up to Marie's room and set up his laptops. It was only a few minutes before Marie came up with two bowls of Ramen. It smelled delicious and instantly made Edd's mouth water. She handed him his bowl, which was extremely hot, and sat down besides him on her bed. "It's best when it's still hot. It's chicken flavored. The best one there is".

"You know I'm a vegetarian don't you"?

"Jesus, not real chicken Edd! Just eat the damn food before I do". Edd took his first bite. The look on his face was the most wonderful thing Marie had ever seen. He looked at Marie with the happiest of expressions.

"This. Is, the greatest thing I've ever eaten".

"Why must you doubt me? I told you they were amazing". Edd scarfed down the entire bowl in no time at all.

Marie was looking over his shoulder at what he was doing to the computers. He had the broken one hooked up to his own so he could see what was on it, and what was causing the problems.

"This guy has an unreal amount of viruses on here". Edd was doing his best to back everything on the man's computer up while deleting everything hurting it. It was a very slow process. Marie turned on Netflix and started playing the show Arrow, a super hero show based on the character Green Arrow. The two watched the first five episodes. After that Edd was about done fixing up the computer. "That was so tedious.", said Edd, relieved to be finished with it.

"What would make him have all those viruses on there"?

"Any number of things. It's probably best we don't know exactly what he does on here". Marie wasn't going to except that answer. She grabbed the computer and began looking through it. "Marie! It's wrong to go through somebodies privet files"!

"Oh come on Double D. You know you want to poke around". Marie clicked on a folder and it opened up a whole lot of pictures.

"Oh dear lord!", Edd screamed. Marie shared his reaction, slamming the computer shut.

"Okay. Bad idea".

"Why must you doubt me." said a smug Edd.


	8. Chapter 8

Edd knew the first days back at school were going to be a pain. Thankfully school started on a Thursday, so after the dread of the first few days the weekend arrived quick to help the students ease back into the flow of things. Edd planed on using the weekend to further his studies in his Calculus class. Mr. W informed his classes that surprise quizzes would be something that happened often, and to be prepared for them. Edd planned to heed his teacher's warning. He had the desk in his bedroom all set up for his studies. His textbook, notes, and a large amount of references he got from the internet. He wanted to be sure there was nothing he came across that he could not solve.

Sometimes Edd wondered if he should spend his Friday nights out with friends, like most kids his age do. He liked to be social, to a degree anyways, but found the joy of being by himself and his studies just suited him more.

"Huh?", Edd's phone rang a familiar tune. The one that played when his mother was calling. It had been a while since he heard from his parents so he joyfully answered the call. "Hello? Mother"?

"Eddward! So sorry we haven't been able to call or check in. Work has been very demanding as of late. How is everything at home? How are you"? His mother spoke very fast, as she did when she was nervous or guilty. Edd knew how she must feel not being able to check in in so long.

"I understand Mother, your work is very important and you don't have a lot of time. Everything here in great. School started Thursday and went well. I received a bunch of new computers to fix up so I'll have some money to put away. Oh! We have new neighbors as well. Mr. and Mrs. Golden moved out, unfortunately".

"They did? That's to bad. They've lived there for as long as I can remember. Long before we ever moved into our house. They were such nice people. Did you introduce yourself to the new neighbors yet"?

"Right as they arrived. Do you remember the Kankers"?

"Those girls that would chase you and your friends around when you were younger? Of course, why"?

"Well, they're the new neighbors. Well, Marie and her mother anyways".

"How does the mother seem"?

"She's very nice. A lot like Marie actually. There was an...accident. Our living room window was broken. She watched over the house while I was at school and until I was able to replace it".

"How did the window break? Are you alright? How have you and Marie gotten along"?

"I'm fine Mother." Edd didn't want to worry his mother with things like the brick. Which he knew he probably should. "Marie and I are getting along very well. We've been spending a lot of time together recently. It's nice having someone to talk to while you and Dad are away". Edd heard what sounded like distant shouting on his mothers end.

"Well I'm glad you two are getting close, and don't worry, we'll be home soon son. I have to go now though. I love you, and see you soon".

"Goodbye. Love you too mom". Edd hung up his phone. Only a little while longer. Hopefully this time they'll be able to stay around a while longer. With that, Edd continued to his studies for the rest of the night.

The morning sun's light shone through Edd's curtains, waking him just before his alarm sounded off. He slept fantastically. For the first time in a while he felt good. After a quick shower and breakfast Edd found himself tinkering with the remaining two computers he was to fix. He had always found it oddly soothing tinkering with things, weather he was fixing or building, it didn't matter. It was what made him happy. He was "in the zone", so to speak, when someone started knocking at his door. Opening the door revealed it to be Kevin.

"Good morning Kevin", he said, surprised to see him. "Is there something I can assist you with"?

"Hey Double D, yeah, someone broke into my car last night. Not sure how they managed to turn off the alarm but they made off with my stereo system". Edd was shocked. Not only because someone actually broke into Kevin's car, but because he had one of those obnoxious stereo systems that took up the entire trunk of his car. How could someone make off with that he wondered?

"I'm so sorry to hear that Kevin. Any ideas who is behind this"?

"No. Called the cops. They said a lot of car theft has been going on in the area. I'm putting in a new alarm and replacing what was taken. Luckily the insurance company is taking care of most of it".

"I'm glad to hear that. So, did you want my help putting it back in your car, or"?

"No, my dad is going to help me out. I was going to ask if I could borrow some stuff. It's a complicated installation and I'm short a few things".

"Oh, no problem. I'm actually a little preoccupied with something at the moment anyways". Edd went into the other room and grabbed his garage keys. "You know where everything is right? You can take whatever you need".

"Thanks man". Edd trusted Kevin to place all of his tools back to their assigned places when he was done. Besides, Edd truthfully just didn't feel like going through all the supplies Kevin would probably need.

Edd worked on computers up until lunch. He was astounded how much time went by. Didn't feel that long at all to him. _Knock knock. _Someone was again knocking on his door. Edd thought it was Kevin returning his garage key.

"Hiya neighbor". He was pleasantly surprised to see Marie in his place.

"Hello Marie. How are you"?

"Hungry! And you promised me cake today". Edd gestured for her to enter. Marie was holding her laptop, which not surprisingly, was decorated with things she had drawn, very skillfully, on it. "So is it safe to assume that you forgot all about me again and didn't make me my cake"?

"I would not allow myself to break a promise to you Marie. I had planned to make it later in the day. But, since you're here, now is fine too".

"Good. I've been looking forward to this all night".

"Well I'll do my best not to disappoint". Marie sat on the living room couch doing something on her computer while Edd started baking her the cake he promised. Since it was a cake mix Edd didn't have to do a lot of work. He wanted to make some fancy designs with the frosting though. Make it a little more aesthetically pleasing.

Edd snuck up on Marie to try and see what she was doing. She was on a site called " Fan Fiction" looking at some writing.

"Marie looked on as the Raptor pack swarmed thew area. With nowhere to run, it seemed they were all but doomed", he read aloud.

"Edd! Don't read it"! She screamed as she slammed her computer closed.

"Why not? It sounded interesting. What was it"?

"Nothing. Just. Something I write when I can. Jurassic Park Fan Fiction". Edd plopped down on the couch and laid down, placing his head on her lap.

"Well. Read it to me. We have a little time to kill before I have to frost the cake. Come on. It'll be fun. Did you put anyone else in it? Or just you"?

"Um...most of us". She was being a lot more withdrawn about this then Edd thought. She didn't seem like the kind of person who would get nervous over something like this. "Here. You read it. I'll just sit here until you're done". She put the computer on his lap. Alright, Edd thought to himself. He went to get up, but Marie stopped him. "You can stay there. If you want". Marie wasn't the type to get embarrassed over things, but Edd swore he saw her blush. So he sat there, using Marie as his pillow, and quickly read through the few chapters Marie had written. It was all about Marie and a group of people visiting a fully functional Jurassic Park. Obviously, they escape and cause havoc. He was surprised by how much he enjoyed it. "So. What do you think"?

"I loved it", he said while adjusting his body off Marie. "Have you written anymore"?

"No. Just that for now. Having a writer's block thing right now. You really liked it"? Edd did his best to reassure her that it was a well written story as he began finishing up the cake. Which didn't take long seeing as all he had to do was frost it.

"And it's done. One Chocolate Fudge Cake." He handed Marie a slice. "How's it taste"? Edd was always very proud of his baking. True, this wasn't really his seeing as it was just a cake mix. However he still took great pride in making it as good as he possibly could.

"Oh my god, it's so good". Marie said with a stuffed mouth. "Dude, did you put ice cream in the middle"? Edd always liked to throw in his own little touches. Apparently it paid off. "Double D, you're the best". Edd grabbed a piece for himself and they sat at the kitchen table eating together. Something that had become quite the norm as of late. Between having lunch together at school and often just spending the rest of the day together after school Edd and Marie almost always ended up eating together. Speaking of which.

"Hey, Marie".

"Yeah"?

"Would you mind making some more Ramen later"? Marie smiled, knowing she was right about how much he'd love it.

"Of course I will. You took the time to make me this cake. There's nothing a girl won't do for you if you make her dessert. Nothing". Marie was clearly implying something, and Edd laughed.

"I'll keep that in mind".

"Oh"? Marie wasn't expecting that from Edd. Usually he just brushes off things like that when she talks. Marie stood up to take her plate to the sink. And she abruptly fell down. Edd rushed to her to make sure she didn't bang her head or anything.

"Are you alright Marie"? She was rubbing her head. Edd checked, there were no bumps or scratches. He got an ice pack for her though. "Can never be to careful. Keep this on your head for a little bit". He placed the pack on her head where he thought he saw some bruising.

"Thanks Double D. Only I can manage to trip standing still. Ow! Ah that hurts. And that's freezing"! Edd made sure there was nothing else on her head to worry about. He did notice something. Though completely unrelated to her fall. Marie had insanely soft hair. He found himself just combing his hand through it. He wasn't completely aware that he was doing it ether. Marie however, was absolutely loving it. Her head eventually rested on Edd and that's when he realized what he was doing.

"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry Marie. I didn't mean to".

"Oh no no no it's fine."Marie said, looking annoyed that he stopped. They were sitting on the floor very close to each other. And for the first time Edd really noticed Marie had freckles on her face. How had he never noticed before? He stared at them, again not really realizing he was doing it. Wait, was Marie's face getting closer to his? Her perfume smelled so nice. What was happening? Their faces were almost touching. And they would have. If Edd's front door hadn't opened.

"Mom, Dad, you're home"!?

**AN: So this is a bit shorter then normal and not my best. I'm having bad writer's block right now but wanted to make sure I got something out. And that Jurassic Park FanFic Marie was writing is actually something I'm writing and may end up posting as bonus chapters on here. Thanks for reading! **


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: So That last chapter I posted a few days ago felt way to short and like there was a lot of stuff I should have added. So I wrote this up to throw in everything I wanted for that chapter. Enjoy!**

Edd was in awe. The absolute last thing he expected was for his parents to walk through the door. All while he was on the floor. With a girl. Who has an ice pack on her head. He couldn't imagine how this looked to his parents. His mother threw her bags on the floor and ran over to hug her son. She was squeezing so tight Edd could barely get a breath out.

"Mother, how are you home already?", he managed to squeeze out. His mother let go and stood up.

"We weren't needed anymore. There was a lot of help for us down there, so we could leave early". Edd honestly wasn't too sure what they were even doing this time, but, he had no reason to doubt his mother. He really couldn't care less ether. He was just happy to see them home again. Edd's father walked over and hugged his son.

"Good to see you Edd. Sorry I never got back to you about the greenhouse. I liked the one you showed me". Edd's father reached into the bag he was carrying and pulled out a sketchpad. "Although I think some improvements could be done". Edd gave a quick look over of what his father had done. His father was just as good a builder, engineer, and designer as he was. Actually, a lot better in most regards. "Look over that tonight and give me your thoughts on it tomorrow. Ooo, cake!", his father ran into the kitchen when he saw the cake Edd and Marie had been eating. "Fudge cake with vanilla ice cream filling. It's like you knew I was coming home"! He got a plate and cut a few pieces for himself and walked into the other room to start unpacking while enjoying a treat.

"My cake...", Marie said in a thoroughly disappointed voice. Edd's mother seemingly took notice of her for the first time.

"Marie, it's good to see you. Honey, what happened to your head"?

"I tripped over myself and bumped my head on the floor".

"Did you check her for bumps or bruises Eddward"?

"Of course mother. No bumps, but there looked to be slight bruising. Nothing to bad. But better safe than sorry". Edd's mother held out her hand to help Marie off of the floor.

"Oh Marie, you've grown into such a beautiful young woman. I can still remember you chasing Eddward around when you were younger. How time flies".

"Thank you. And you're looking rather fine yourself"! Edd's mother couldn't help but laugh. She was indeed considered very attractive by most. She had Edd when she was only 18 and just starting college, so she wasn't as old as any of the parents in the neighborhood. She was actually just about to celebrate her 35th birthday in the coming months.

While his mother looked over Marie's injury Edd went to check on his father. He was in the living room looking over the window. He looked impressed with the work Edd had done.

"So. How exactly did you break the window"? Edd still hadn't come up with a way to explain what had happened to the window to his parents. So he did his best to vier the conversation in any other direction.

"Does it seem stable enough to you? Rolf was kind enough to help me replace it, but windows aren't exactly a strong suit of mine. Hope it looks alright". His father looked at him, as if he was putting something together.

"There's a good rule of thumb for checking windows son. Here place your hand in the center. Like this". Edd followed his fathers instructions and placed his hand on the glass. His father proceeded to grab his arm and pull up his sleeve, revealing the bruised area of his arm that had been hit during the window smashing. "Thought I saw something on you when I walked in. Now, why don't you tell me what's been going on here Eddward". Did Edd tell his father? Was it as big of a deal as he was making it in his head? "Son, I know about the brick. Marie's mother was outside when we pulled in and introduced herself. She let me know about the whole incident. You're mother raced off before she could bring it up. I understand why you'd want to keep this from her. I know how she gets. But you can't hide this sort of thing from me. I don't know who did it or why. For all we know it was just some kids being stupid. But just in case it's something else we need to keep an eye out". Edd knew his father was right. Hopefully he was wrong about who threw it, but on the chance her was right... he would need to keep a look out for anything else that may happen.

Edd and his father walked back into the kitchen where Marie and Edd's mother were trading off laughs.

"Eddward, I never knew you've never had Ramen before! You're lucky Marie has such great taste. I'll be sure to pick you some up next time I'm at the store".

"How long are you two going to be home for this time"?

"For a while.", said his father, taking the seat at the table next to his wife. "We've taken some time off so we can, among other things, spend some time with our son".

"What is it that you two actually do?". Marie asked. "Everyone knows you guys travel a lot but no one seems to know what you do for a living". Edd's mother laughed.

"It's no big secret dear. We're", she stopped when her phone began to ring. "Oh, sorry, I have to take this. Hello? Yes, this is Rose". Marie looked to Edd's father for clarification. But before he could speak his phone also rang. "Hello. Yes this is Ronald". He mouthed the words "I have to take this" and went up to his study to take the call. Marie just sort of sat there. Clearly not believing what just happened.

"How's your head feeling"?

"Better. I like your mom. She's funny".

"Yeah. She's great. So, what would you like to do"?

"You're parents just came home. Don't you want me to leave so you can have some quality time with them"?

"Just because they're home doesn't mean they're not working. They'll be on their phones for a while, and then have to unpack. It'll be a little bit before I can sit down and talk with them. So we can still hang out for a while. If you'd like".

"Well I did say I'd make you some Ramen. Why don't we give your parents some space and go to my place for a little bit". Edd quickly agreed, he was pretty desperate for some more Ramen. When Edd and Marie went to leave they noticed it was beginning to rain, and hard. "I love the rain". Edd turned to grab an umbrella. When he turned back he saw Marie racing across her front yard. He wasn't going to have any part of that. He opened his umbrella and made his way to Marie, who was now soaked. They saw a flash of lightning hit the sky, followed shortly after by a huge boom of thunder. Marie's face lit up. "Thunderstorm!", she yelled. There were few things she enjoyed more then these. She ran into her house and up into her room. Edd, far behind her, made sure to leave his now muddy boots and soaked umbrella somewhere they wouldn't cause an inconvenience for Marie's mother.

"Hello Eddward". Diana was sitting in the dinning room with papers spread across the entire table.

"Hello Diana. I'm afraid I may have tracked some mud into your house. Terribly sorry".

"Don't sweat it. Just wish Marie was a thoughtful as you. She just threw her shoes off and ran her soaked ass upstairs. But she's not the one who was to clean it". Edd soon rejoined Marie in her bedroom. Which was still pretty messy and filled with unpacked boxes. One of which Marie was going through.

"What are you looking for?", he asked. She didn't answer right away. When she popped out of the box she was digging through she was holding some kind of recording equipment.

"I love thunderstorms. So whenever one is happening I like to record it. As weird as it sounds, it helps me to sleep sometimes". She placed the recording equipment all around her window, like she already knew the best setup for getting good sound.

"Why don't you put that up in the attic? It would sound a lot better up there". She looked at him like he was crazy.

"Um, Edd. We don't have an attic". Edd smiled.

"You didn't know about the Cubby-holes in your room? They lead right up to the attic. You really didn't notice the window in the front of your house"?

"Um..no". Edd went over to a part of her room with a bunch of boxes piled up. He pushed them aside and pressed on a portion of the wall, causing a small door to open.

"It's pretty dark and narrow. I should go first". Edd crouched in and lead Marie up into the attic. As soon as they exited the Cubby-hole the sound of the rain hitting the roof made Marie light up. It sounded so close! She was such a sucker for this kind of thing. "When I was little and my parents would have to go away for work Mr and Mrs Golden, the people who used to live here, would watch me and a bunch of the neighborhood kids. We found out about this and would always come up here to hide. Don't think they knew about it ether. Or just didn't care much for it. This room wouldn't be good for storing much of anything". There were cobwebs and dust everywhere. Even some small old boxes. Probably from the people who lived there before the Goldens. Marie was sitting right next to the window, enjoying every second of the storm. Edd wiped some dust away from the ground and sat beside her. "Do you like it?" he asked. Marie nodded her head.

"It's wonderful Double D. Thanks for showing me".

"Think nothing of it".

"The way the sound is echoing up here is amazing". She turned and looked at Edd. "So. Are we going to talk about what happened"?

"Talk about what happened?", Edd repeated.

"You know! After I fell. And you gave me the ice pack, and were playing with my hair". Edd sat silent. "When we were about to kiss!", Marie was right in his personal space.

"I have no recollection of the event in question". Marie stood in disbelieve. However it wasn't long before she started laughing, and grabbed Edd's face.

"I can't stand you sometimes". Edd couldn't help but smile.

"So...want to make me that Ramen now"?


	10. Chapter 10

** AN: Last short chapter. Should have just waited and put the last three all together for one big chapter instead of three small ones. Now with the Romance stuff out of the way for a minute I can start writing about Edd and his Parents. Hope that turns out okay. Thanks for reading!**

The two sat in the attic for some time. Neither not really saying a thing. Just enjoying the rain and the others company. The rain and wind outside was picking up quite a bit. It wasn't until Marie got hungry that they went back downstairs. As Marie had promised she made Ramen for the two of them. There was a note on the dinning room table from Marie's mother. Apparently she had to run out somewhere for work and would be back later.

"Jesus", Edd heard Marie say from the kitchen. He walked in to see her looking out the window. The rain was coming down so hard it was almost impossible to see anything. But there was very clearly a small tree almost getting ripped from the ground by the wind. "There was no storm warning or anything was there? How could they miss something like this"?

"The news said it was supposed to be in the high 80s all weekend. Peach Creek has always had odd weather though. Nothing to strange about the weatherman not being able to predict this". _**Beep Beep**_! Their Ramen was done. The pair wen up to Marie's bedroom to eat them.

The rain and wind outside continued to get worse. Marie went over to the glass door that lead out to her balcony to get a better look. Almost immediately as she looked out one of the chairs she had out there flew into the door, leaving a huge crack. The impact came so suddenly that Marie fell backwards and bashed her head on corner of her bed.

"Damn it!", she screamed. Edd saw the blood spread all over the bed where she hit her head. It was no secret that he wasn't comfortable around blood. However, seeing the sheer amount of it had him to worried not to do something. He lifted up Marie's head and tried to find the cut and how big and deep it looked. The cut went from the very top of her head to about midway down her neck. It was big, but it didn't seem to be seriously deep. Nothing that would require surgery, stitches, or anything of the sort. Which was a huge relief. The storm outside would prevent them from getting anywhere. She was loosing a lot of blood, he needed to get it cleaned and bandaged. And fast. He looked around at what was in her room. He grabbed a shirt out of a large pile.

"Marie, hold this hard against your head alright. I'll be right back". Edd ran downstairs to find something, anything that he could use to clean and bandage the cut. He found an ice pack in the freezer, and some peroxide in the bathroom. Having no other option he also grabbed a roll of toilet paper. It was all he had to bandage Marie's head with.

Marie was sitting against her bed. One hand holding the shirt against her cut and the other eating her bowl of Ramen.

"Alright Marie, I found some stuff and should be able to patch you up and," Edd stopped. "Are you eating my Ramen"?

"Losing a lot of blood her Double D". She was right. The shirt was soaked in it. He knelt down next to her and removed the shirt.

"This is going to sting. Lower your head please.", Edd poured the peroxide over her head. She kicked her feet up and down and the stinging. He blew on it to relieve some of the burning and patted her head down with a large wad of toilet paper and proceeded to bandage it as best he could. Toilet paper was probably the last thing he would want to use for this. Not having options was awful. After using about 80% of the roll, he stopped. "I did my best. Hope it stays".

"Hope it stays? Wrong choice of words Double D. Couldn't just say it'll hold and you'll be fine? Man, I'm lightheaded".

"Do you have any orange juice"?

"Orange, no. Apple, yes". Edd went to retrieve some apple juice for Marie. On his way back up the stairs the power shut off and he fell. He sighed. Luckily he had a small flashlight on his key chain and safely made it back to Marie's room. He gave her the drink. Marie felt a lot better after drinking it. Still very lightheaded though. The storm outside didn't look to be letting up anytime soon. Even if it did Edd wouldn't leave Marie by herself while she was in this condition. He helped her onto her bed so she could rest. She decided she was going to use Edd as her pillow. "Double D, don't you know when a girl does this you're supposed to put your arm around her"?

"Um. I'd rather. You should get some sleep." he managed to stutter out. While he was closer with Marie then he had ever been with a girl, she was still a girl. And he never did this sort of thing with one before. So obviously he got a bit nervous. But Marie wasn't going to except that. "Fine. I'll do it myself.", she said as she grabbed Edd's arm and wrapped it around herself. "See. Much better". He had to admit, it was pretty nice. "Oh! You should also play with my hair. Not the nasty bloody part, but the cute soft part in the front".

"Marie",

"I'm injured and you have to do what I say"! Scared, Edd obeyed the order and combed his hand through the part of Marie's hair he didn't bandage up. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep, and shortly after, for Edd too.

The nap didn't last long and Edd was soon up making his way out of Marie's bed, trying his best not to wake her. He looked out the window and saw the storm had for the most part passed on. Some light rain but nothing major. He saw that Diana's car was in the driveway. She must have gotten home after the front of the storm hit. Which means she probably saw him and Marie in bed together...

He made his way downstairs to see Diana again working on something on the dinning room table. She saw him and smiled.

"Hey Eddward, bout time right"! Edd glew red at her remark and what it was that she was implying. He informed Diana what had happened with Marie falling and bashing her head and how he cleaned it and that long as she rests and keeps her head elevated she should be fine. She prompted to hug him afterwords, which made him rather uncomfortable. "Thank you for taking care of my daughter.", she said to him. She sounded very sincere. A depart from the usual sarcastic tone she shared with Marie.


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: I was having some problems with my computer today and had to write this out in wordpad, which doesn't have spell check. So I'll apologize now for the errors that are bound to be swimming through this. I'll revise it tomorrow once my computer starts behaving. Thanks for reading!**

**Edit: Went back and corrected all of the little errors I saw. If I missed any please let me know.**

The storm had done some significant damage to the neighborhood. Smaller trees were sprinkled all across the roads, stop signs literally bent in half, and the cars. They took the worst blow of all. Across the street Edd could see Kevin sobbing on the hood of his car.

"Serenity, I'm so sorry baby. I didn't know!" he yelled. Edd saw that his parents had their car safely parked in the garage. On the short walk from Marie's house to his own, Edd stepped on countless Roof shingles that blew off from all the houses. His house seemed to have some damage. Nothing he and his father couldn't tackle in an afternoon. They were lucky. A lot of houses lost a lot more then a few shingles.

Unsurprisingly, when Edd entered his house both his parents were on their cell phones. His mother walked over to him and gave him a hug and a kiss. Her way of telling him, "I'm glad your safe". It was crazy to him how his parents could block out what was going on outside and continue their business calls. Suppose that's why they're the bosses.

Exhausted by the toll taking care of Marie had on him, Edd made himself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and sat at the kitchen table to eat it. As soon as he got the first bite down his father, finally off his phone, sat next to him.

"These calls are going to be the death of me." he said in a melodramatic tone similar to one Marie would use. He rubbed his face rather angrily for a moment before looking at Edd. "Sorry about all this Edd. These calls won't last much longer. Your mother and I are trying to get something set up and it's taking a lot of doing to get done". Edd pushed his plate, with half of his sandwich, at his father who clearly needed it more then he did. Doing all this work over the phone, and on jet lag. He had to be losing his mind. After inhaling the sandwich Edd's father continued. "Your mother and I hate all the travel. Changing time zones every day. Leaving somewhere on a Monday and arriving somewhere else the Sunday before (time zone difference makes them "time travel" so to speak). Well. That parts pretty cool. But we just want to stay in one place. Plant our roots. It's great we get to help people who really need it but it's just to much for us now".

"So what are you guys trying to do"?

"Like I said. Set roots". Edd's father stood up and went to grab his bag from the other room. He pulled out a large binder and handed it to Edd. Edd flipped through the first couple of pages. It was all detailed information on equipment, buildings, and all sorts of things Edd didn't really understand. "Your mother and I are trying to find a place to start our own business. Doing what we love, but not being thrown all around the world by somebody else. Instead. We'll be the ones throwing people around the world" he said with a chuckle. "It's taken a lot of work over a long period of time, but we're close". Edd looked at some of the tabs in the binder. London, New York, San Francisco, Peach Creek, London, Germany. There were quite a few place listed. Each of which had mind numbing amounts of information packed in. "Those are all the places we're looking to set up shop. Right now we've secured the area we going to start everything at and are finalizing a deal in the another area that would be the best place to expand to first".

"And where are they"?

"Here. And New York. Peach Creek is a huge area. A great building was available and we jumped on it. It'll be a great starting point for us".

"How is it that you are able to afford all of this"?

"Loans. Mostly. Our old boss Mr. Stan is helping us out considerably as well".

"Helping you? You're starting a company that will be dealing in the same line of work as his, in a lot of the same areas if your plans work out, why would he help you"?

"I know it's hard to believe son, but some people aren't in it for the money. Mr. Stan just wants to help people, the same as we do. We're going to be partners in this. Work together to get help to people who can't help themselves. Sharing resources, information, anything to make things run smoothly. The amount of Medical companies that could help but don't. It's sickening. Cheap affordable care is what people need. Alone your mother and I, even with the others that work for Mr. Stan, can't do it all. All the facial reconstructions I can give some kid or prosthetic arm your mother can give it's just not enough". Edd wasn't a cynical person by any means, but he had his doubts on this whole thing. He continued to look through the Peach Creek section and saw a long list of equipment they were getting. He noticed that based on the model numbers he saw earlier in the binder, the equipment his parents were getting for their first building were all outdated.

"Dad, why are you getting all outdated machines and equipment here"?

"Mr. Stan is selling his older stuff to us for practically nothing since he just upgraded most of his inventory. Remember son, the tool doesn't make the man. Whatever we get we can use to better the life of someone.

"Would you mind explaining why exactly you picked the places you did"? His father flipped to the very back of the binder.

"Each country or state we've looked at is chosen because the high rate of people in our profession. All types of Surgeons, Physicians, dentists, anyone in the medical field. There's a lot of people willing to help. We just have to go out and find them". Edd's mother excitedly ran into the room smiling.

"We got the area in New York!" she screamed enthusiastically. She and Edd's father danced excitedly around the kitchen for a moment before his phone rang again. While he took it in the other room Edd and his mother sat together at the table. "So, did your father explain everything to you Eddward"? He simply nodded. "It's going to take a lot of work to realize what were trying to do. But, at least we'll be with you for it right"? Edd let a smile out. He was excited about his parents being around more. But with all this work would they really even be able to spend time with him? "Eddward there is one thing you should know. Your father thought it would be best to hold off on telling you just in case things don't go the way we plan, but. We're starting everything here, but as you know we're scouting locations for more offices and each of them is going to require us around. The plan is for us to have this one up and running by July next year. After that we'll be heading to New York to make sure that goes well. We know it's a lot to ask, but we want you to come with us. I know it's asking a lot to leave your friends and life here and finishing your Senior year in a different state, but we want you to be able to do this with us before you go off to college. A last little family trip, so to speak. You've always said You wanted to get into the same line of work as us. So you can get a first hand look at how everything is run. And, when the time comes, take over. There's", she was interrupted by her phone once more. "We'll talk later hun. Think about it". She gave him a kiss on the head and left the room. Leaving Edd to contemplate what to do.

All of this was a lot to take in. On one hand he couldn't believe his parents would try something of this scale. On the other hand it doesn't surprise him in the least. They've always wanted nothing but to help people less fortunate then themselves. He knew they were capable of achieving their dream and making this all work. What he was concerned about was if he should go with them or not. True, he does want to get into the same line of work as his parents. Traveling around helping people and getting to see wonderful places in the process. It helps that Edd had never really wanted a family. Which would be the best rout to go if he truly ended up in this line of work. Could he manage a year away from his parents? It would be the last time he'd get to spend time with them before college. But could he leave behind his life here, and all the people he cared about? Ed, Rolf, Kevin, Nazz, Marie. Just drop them and everything else? Luckily he had almost a year to figure out his answer. For right now, he would try not to stress about it to much and just do what he could to help his parents out as best he could.

Being exhausted from everything that was thrown at him, Edd passed out shortly after his talk with his parents. They on the other hand got little to no sleep at all. Throughout the night Edd could hear his father pacing around in his study, the constant ringing, as well as their conversations on the phone. Luckily Edd was able to tune out noise when trying to sleep and it didn't bother him much.

Sunday morning came all to quick for Edd who awoke promptly at 7am. He glanced over to his desk where he saw his phone blinking. He missed a few calls from Marie. She must have tried getting a hold of him after she woke up. He was about to call her when the familiar smell of his mothers delicious pancakes hit his nose. Marie can wait, he thought as he made his way to the kitchen.

"Good morning Eddward. Hope you're hungry". His mother was admittedly a pretty terrible cook most of the time. Though her pancakes were the best he'd ever eaten. Joyously he sat at the table, which had three plates set out. He received a rather large stack of pancakes and prompted to add a touch of syrup to them. His father soon entered the kitchen after apparently ending a call with someone. He kissed his wife and sat beside Edd.

"Morning son. Did you manage to sleep last night? I know I was pretty loud on the phone all night. Sorry about that".

"No no." Edd quickly replied. "I slept just fine". His father dug into his own stack of pancakes, twice the size of Edd's, before continuing.

"Getting trucks to move equipment to our new building is a lot more frustrating then it should be. Charging us a fortune. But the move will start tomorrow. So, for now at least, it looks like we've got some time to ourselves".

"A welcome change." his mother added".

"Edd, did you get a chance to look over the greenhouse ideas I had before passing out last night"? Edd took a sip of his milk.

"I did. I think the windows you want to add are a good idea. I think we could honestly add more then the ones you wanted. I looked into some automatic feeders not long ago as well. So in the event of both of us being busy it would manage some of the work for us".

"Good thinking son. Did you have any ideas as to what you wanted to grow"?

"I had a few Ideas. I bought some seeds a while back. They should be arriving in the mail any day now. Some foreign fruits and vegetables that will add something unique to our garden".

"Good thinking." his father muttered out with a mouth full of pancakes.

"Swallow your food dear". This was great, Edd thought. His family having breakfast together. It seems like it's been so long since they've done it. Even over the summer when they were traveling together they rarely got to just sit down and have a meal. It was long overdue, and Edd was loving every second of it. After breakfast was done Edd's parents told him some stories of places they had been. His mother bought him some very old books, including one about Nian, a creature of Chinese mythology. A subject Edd loved. Something he and his mother shared. The rest of the morning was spent by Edd informing them on how he's been since returning home. His mother was a little to interested in his relationship with Marie, and he knew she would bug him about it mercilessly, even though there was nothing to tell.

Edd and his father proceeded to spend a good chunk of time in their basement workshop drawing out improvements to the greenhouse they wanted to buy. It was a 8x16 house and they wanted to think of some way of increasing the size without having to spend a lot. During his youth most of the time Edd spent with his father was down here. His father would show him how to take things apart. How they worked. How to use tools and build things. There was a huge work area with every kind of tool you'd ever need. It was his father's retreat. And eventually, it became Edd's. He built a glass cabinet to house all of his models and other things he's built over the years. Right next to a similar case his father made when he was young.

Time spent with his father flew by and quickly it was already time for lunch. Edd promised his dad he would make it so they wouldn't have to suffer his mothers cooking. He decided to make basil tomato pasta, which took about 20 minutes. His father told him to call when it was ready, he wanted to try and find something in one of his many, many old filing cabinets. As Edd did his thing in the kitchen he was joined by his mother who had just gotten back from a quick run to the grocery store.

"So Eddward. Tell me more about Marie".

"Mother, I spent a good portion of my childhood telling you about her".

"That was then. What's she like now? You say you've been spending a lot of time with her lately. There must be a reason right"?

"She's enjoyable company. Nothing more to it. Sorry to disappoint you".

"Come now Eddward, do you honestly think you can lie to your mother"?

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it". Edd had prepared himself for this the second he saw his mother enter their door. She liked to pry. And pry. Until people broke and spilled their guts to her. But Edd wasn't so easy to crack. Even if he did, what could he tell her? He and Marie were close friends. They had a weird moment on his kitchen floor. Nothing crazy.

"But weren't you going to kiss her before we walked in"?

"Oh look! Foods ready. DAD! FOODS DONE! Here's your plate mother". She looked on with a smug smile. She knew she was going to win.

Edd's father ran in holding a binder with the tag "Projects" on it.

"What's that hun?" his mother asked.

"It's a binder of all the projects Edd and I ever talked about doing. I wrote every one of the random crazy ideas we had down. We may be busy with our new business venture but we'll be together more often then not, so why not take a look though this and see if there's anything that catches our eye. Take a look". Edd handed his father his food and received the binder. It was surprisingly organized. His father was a messy person. He always claimed it was a sign of a creative mind. "See nay you like"? There were things he remembered talking about years and years ago. Practical things like a suit of armor, a tree house, and a miniature model of Peach Creek Also crazy things like a full size transformer made out of old car parts.

"There's a lot of ideas I'd like to tackle. But with your job and my school work what could we manage right now"?

"Guess we'll have to start small. We'll find something. Take some time to look through that. First project is something you pick. I get the next one". That sounded good to Edd. He figured he would have a good time in one of his study halls looking through it.

The day ended much as it began. Edd spending quality time with his parents. He knew it wouldn't be like this everyday so he made sure to get the most out of it. He showered, brushed his teeth, and laid his outfit for the next day out. He then went through his backpack making sure all of his homework was done, organized, and ready to hand in. He did notice his Calculus notes were not in his backpack though. Then he remembered he had them on his desk to study earlier this weekend. He grabbed them, in the process knocking his phone on the floor. He then remembered he never called Marie back. He saw several more calls missed from her and wanted to return them. But for whatever reason decided not to and just went to bed. He'd see her tomorrow anyways.

**AN: This was a fun chapter to write. Can't wait to explore Edd's relationship with his parents more. Also, there's a chance updates will be happening a lot slower now. I've had an idea for a story that I'm dying to start writing and if that goes well it may take priority over this. Nothing fanfiction related, just an idea I've always wanted to write out.**


	12. Chapter 12

After a fantastic night of sleep Edd found himself being awoken, but not by his alarm clock as usual. No, this time by his mother. A pleasant surprise to hear his mother's voice in place of the incessant ringing of his alarm. It was also nice to not have to rush into the shower so he had the time to make himself breakfast. With his mother providing it today he could take a minute and actually get to enjoy his hot morning shower. Edd normally gets up for school around Six and class started at quarter after Seven. Depending on if he walked or got a ride it would only take five to ten minutes to get there. Point being, he got to take a long refreshing shower and still get to sit down with both his parents before they all had to head out.

Unsurprisingly once Edd arrived downstairs his father was yelling at someone over the phone. He couldn't manage to understand what all the fuss was about, but honestly he was so into the glorious smell of pancakes that he couldn't pretend to care. He was handed a large plate and wasted no time in devouring everything on it. Once his father was off the phone he reminded Edd to find a project for them to start working on soon. Edd assured him that he would. Being the first day of the move to their building his parents had to rush out the door a bit sooner then Edd would have liked. Not two minutes after they left he heard a knock at the door. Edd opened the door half expecting it to be his mother remembering something she left here. However that was not the case as Kevin stood in his doorway. He smiled and greeted his friend, wondering what he was doing here.

"I'm going to start climbing again today after school. Want to come back with me"? It was no secret that Edd was never known for his amazing physical physique, but around the time he and Kevin started becoming better acquainted he invited Edd to go to a local indoor climbing place, Rock Venture. He described it as something anyone could do, and also a great way to stay in shape. He started out on beginner courses but eventually moved up to the more challenging ones Kevin used. The place had come under new management and went through some serious renovations that made them close down for around eight months. Edd had completely forgotten about it. It was always a fun time and he would love to go back. So he happily acquiesced. Kevin also offered Edd a ride to school. Which Edd was quick to take. As they entered Kevin's car and drove off Edd failed to see Marie walking out of her front door. Along with the look on her face.

School was at the point were now the real work would be starting. Edd's first period History class reminded the students of just that. Mr. West decided to assign the classes first essay. After the groaning and complaining from the kids stopped Mr. West explained the topic of the paper, international relations, and then dove right into the first lesson about it. The paper wouldn't be due for 2 or so weeks. By letting them know this far in advance he was hoping some of them might actually do it. Edd knew right away what he would base his paper on. How powerful countries inject themselves into smaller countries issues. Whether they want it or not.

After a very enjoyable history lesson Edd happily went to his English class, which was spent reading a book Edd already finished. So instead he began reading some random book he found in the classroom, "The Giver". When the bell rang Edd asked his teacher Mrs. Domm if he could keep the book to finish at home, which she delightedly agreed to. Edd made haste to his AP Physics class. Since he spent all his free time the first few days of school going ahead in their workbook Edd felt he was completely prepared for whatever the teacher had in store. As it turns out, he was a bit to prepared. Being an Ap course Edd naturally assumed things would move a quicker pace then his other classes. Unfortunately he was wrong, and the class dragged on going over things Edd had since mastered. Regretting his decision to work ahead he sat there for an hour and a half impatiently waiting for lunch to start.

Edd brought his and his father's project book to look through when he got some free time. Based on how thought out and detailed each project was he figured lunch would be a good time to start, so he went straight to the library from Physics. He was truly amazed. His father took every idea the two had ever talked about, weather serious or in jest, and made fully thought out designs and plans for nearly every one of them. A whole section of the binder was devoted to outfits from movies and TV shows the two thought looked cool. They were the simplest things in the binder. Granted, making an exact replica of an outfit would take time, but it was certainly a good choice for a first project for the two to start.

"Eddward". Edd looked up and saw Anna standing beside the table. He smiled at her. She didn't have lunch at this time. What was she doing here?

"Hello Anna", he replied. "What are you doing here"?

"It's study hall, you didn't sign in for it, so I did for you. I thought you'd be in here". Was lunch really over? Edd didn't realize how focused on the binder he had gotten.

"Oh, well thank you very much for that. Guess I lost track of time. Would you like to sit with me"?

"Thank you...but I have early release today, I'm starting a new job" (early release is when a student has study hall last period they can just leave if they want to). Edd wished her luck and continued on his projects until school was done. He thought he figured out the outfit to make and couldn't wait to talk to his father about it. But he wouldn't get the chance to until, much later. He met up with Kevin at his car and they made their way to Rock Venture.

Kevin and Edd arrived at Rock Venture quickly. It was only just down the street from their school, and Kevin sort of drives like a madman. The parking lot was surprisingly full as well. For whatever reason this sort of thing really seemed to attract an older crowd. Kevin and Edd were often the only ones their age when they used to come here. As soon as they entered the building the new renovations became abundantly clear. The ceiling was raised in certain areas, some crazy sloped walls were added, it just looked a lot crazier then before. Kevin was overjoyed by this. Edd on the other hand though. He was hoping to slowly get back into this and not go straight to the crazy challenging courses. Though it seems they were all crazy challenging now.

"I've missed this place. Didn't miss how expensive it was though".

"Looks like the prices all went up as well, Kevin". The two stood at the front desk waiting for someone to come assist them.

"Hello, sorry to keep you waiting, we're swamped today. How may I help you. Ugh. Eddward"? The girl behind the desk was no other then Anna. This was the job she told him about? What are the chances?

"Hello Anna. I had no idea this was the job you told me about today".

"Yeah", she said softly, seemingly embarrassed. "My uncle is the new manager here and he insisted I work for him".

"You don't like it here"?

"To many people. To crowded and loud". Edd couldn't disagree on any of those points. "Anyways, what would you like"? Kevin and Edd looked at each other, trying to decide between just getting a day pass or spend a lot more on a membership, which granted them access for so many weeks. "My uncle wants to try to get more people our age to come here, so I could give you guys a discount on memberships, if you'd like". Kevin's face lit up at those words. With all the money he puts into Serenity he can't go spending one-hundred dollars on a membership. He immediately agreed, and Edd soon after. "Here you guys go. Two month memberships. Enjoy".

"Thank you so much Anna".

"Alright Double D, enough talking, let's go. You can impress your lady friend by climbing the hardest course they have". Anna laughed at Kevin and Edd's interaction. To Edd's dismay, Kevin picked a rather difficult course to start. He was in very good physical condition, while Edd was a little rusty.

Edd discovered he somehow maintained a decent amount of ability over the long gap between doing this. He was having no problems keeping up with Kevin on the courses over the three hours they spent there. He had forgotten how much he loved doing things like this. Before they decided to leave Kevin needed to use the restrooms and cool off for a minute. So Edd decided to get some fresh air outside waiting by Kevin's car while he did what he had to inside. And, out of nowhere, he felt the intense stinging of a fist making contact with his face. Followed by another. Sending him to the ground. Though he was disorientated he could clearly see who it was. Eddy, and he was screaming something at him. His ears were ringing horribly, but he heard a bit of what was being screamed at him. "It's your fault", "You're going to pay", "Ruined my life". Edd felt an anger building in him. Nothing like he'd ever felt before. He wasn't sure what was happening, but it was like his instincts were completely taking over. He lunged at Eddy, completely surprising him and taking him to the ground. There, Edd proceed to pummel the hell out of his face.

"I'm tired of you blaming me, you ruined your own life!", he screamed. He heard the sound of Eddy's nose break when his fist hit him. Who knows what other damage he would have done if Kevin hadn't pulled him off.

"Double D chill! Anna called the cops, they'll be here any minute, people saw Eddy attack you, he's going away"! Edd slowly started regaining his composure. Looking at Eddy's twitching body lying on the ground, then at his own blood covered hands. He sat on the sidewalk, still trying to register what had just happened. It was self defense, but that doesn't excuse how far he had taken it. Edd was grateful Kevin was there to remove him from the situation. He had no intention of stopping and could have seriously hurt Eddy. Not that he didn't deserve it, but that didn't make it right. Edd saw the cop cars pulling into the parking lot. An officer went to talk to Anna and her uncle while another one cuffed Eddy and put him in their car. They wanted to ask Edd a bunch of questions and he was glade to answer them all. The only thing on his mind right now was how he was going to explain this whole situation to his parent. Surely they wouldn't be to happy with him.

**AN: The last chapter got a lot of nice comments on it and that made me want to write a lot more. Nice to finally have the Eddy situation being in the forefront. Hope you enjoyed.**


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: So this just hit 10,000 views, which is awesome. So thanks to everyone who read it :)**

The police had Edd go down to the station with them to do some routine questions. They called his parents to inform them of the situation. They were both much to busy to make it down right away but made sure Edd was okay and everything was being taken care of. Coincidentally earlier that day the police got a tip about the people stealing car parts and busted a large group of teenagers involved in it. One of them ratted out other members not with them for a lesser sentence. One of which, was Eddy. So with both assault and theft charges he was going away for a while. Since he was 18 he would be charged as an adult. There was no way out of it for him.

Anna's uncle John went down to the police station with Edd. He felt that since all this happened on his property he was somehow responsible for Edd's well being. He apologized and threw a bunch of free stuff at him in hopes that he would keep coming to his facility. Edd assured him that he couldn't possibly blame him for what happened and would continue to give him his business. After all the questioning the police did was over John offered Edd a ride home, but he declined the offer. He wanted some time alone for a little while.

On the other side of town Marie was just leaving the library. Some books she ordered had finally come in and she was anxious to begin them. She wasn't in a very good mood as of late. She still had a bandage around the back of her head from the injury she sported the other day during the storm and people kept giving her weird looks. Well, people always gave her weird looks, but more so now, and it was infuriating to her. On top of that her art teacher was far past her last nerve and Marie had actually thought about dropping the class in place for some other elective. All of that plus her situation with Double D. She had tried calling him several times over the past few days but she hasn't been able to reach him since he left her house. He bailed on their morning walk to school, and she waited for him at lunch but he never showed up. It was like he was pushing her away and she didn't understand why. Yeah his parents where home now but that didn't mean he had to be all rude and ignore her. But whatever, she didn't want to think about all that right now. For now she just wanted to get back home and lose herself in her books. And maybe stop in this bakery and get some sweets first.

With her books and bag of sweet sugary goodness Marie retreated out to her balcony and laid out on the old couch she had put out there. Stuffing a large cookie in her mouth Marie grabbed her huge headphones and began looking for some music to blare and drown out any other noise. Rush, by Demotional was the first song she picked and began immersing herself in the world of her books.

Once Edd had left the police station he didn't go home. Ashamed and confused over what he did he just wondered around aimlessly for a long while. He had received several calls from Kevin, Nazz, and Rolf. He knew word of what happened would spread quickly. He dreaded what going to school tomorrow would be like. Surly he'd be hounded by the other students. Maybe take a sick day? No! Edd has never once missed a day of school. He wouldn't allow this to tarnish his perfect record. This is not at all how he envisioned everything would happen when he came back home. Moving far far away is looking to be a better option every passing second. It was almost six so his Parents should be getting home soon. Edd dreadfully shuffled his way back home, not wanting to hear what his parents would have to say.

Gleefully making her way through a bag of cookies while reading, Marie had completely removed herself from everything. That is, until she felt herself being violently shaken. During which, a piece of her cookie began falling to the floor. With much skill she managed to catch it just before it hit the ground.

"You're such a fat ass". A very irritated Marie now looked up to her mother. Why would she ruin Marie's blissful state like that?

"What do you want mother"?

"Snippy today aren't you? I overheard some kids talking outside. Apparently your man got into a fight with someone named Eddy". Marie's heart sank. A fight? Edd? No, surly her mother misheard and it was somebody else. "I wouldn't look so concerned", her mother said, interrupting all the terrible thoughts Marie was having. "From what I heard, Edd beat the kid out cold. You should check up on him when you're done stuffing your face. Her mother's attitude aside she knew she was right. She should check in and make sure he's alright shouldn't she? Although, Edd had been ignoring her. She had to at least try reaching out to him so she grabbed her phone and sent a text. Knowing Edd like she did she knew right now he probably wouldn't want to talk to anyone.

Taking his sweet time Edd made it back to his street to see his parents car in the driveway. Expecting the worst he made his way up to his door and entered. The house was unusually quiet. Normally he'd hear his parents on their phones. The upstairs lights were on and so where the kitchen ones. He looked in the kitchen first. Mostly because he was starving having eaten noticing since lunch where he had only a small snack. His father was sitting at the table eating a sandwich. He noticed Edd standing in the doorway and asked if he wanted some of his food. Edd shook his head, but the loud rumbling his stomach made disagreed with him, so he sat down and had some of his father's sandwich. Edd figured the second he walked through the door he would be bombarded. Everything seemed off and he had no idea what was going to happen.

"So did you get around to picking out a project for us to do"? Why would his father care about that right now? He did know what happened didn't he?

"Hello Eddward", his mother said in an unusually peppy tone. Edd wasn't sure how to react to all this.

"Hello mother, and yes, I did figure out something that we could work on. An outfit, or costume really. From a movie I saw recently. I'll collect images of it from every angel I can and do some research about it and get it to you as soon as I can". Edd's father became noticeable excited at the thought of finally getting a project started together. Edd picked up the last bit of his sandwich, and that's when his mother lost it.

"Oh god Ron I can't hold it in any more. Look at is knuckles!", she ran over to Edd and thoroughly examined his hands, face, neck, anything she could get her hands on. "My baby was in a fight. Are you alright? Did he hurt you? Are you okay? Oh my god, oh my god".

"Rose, calm down. Obviously he's fine. Sorry son. I thought I convinced your mother to not do this to you when you got home. Should have know she'd break".

"Well what did you expect? My boy was attacked"!

"Yes he was. And he defended himself and beat the kids as..."

"Ronald! Don't talk like that!", she interrupted. "I'm going to get my kit and clean you up". His mother sprinted up the stairs to find her first aid kit. She means well but goes a little overboard when it came to Edd getting hurt. Edd felt awful after seeing the terrified look in his mother's eyes. How could he do something like that to her?

"Edd, don't look like that. What you did, it was self defense. You were attacked and fought back. You didn't do anything wrong. Anybody in the same situation who says they would have done differently are lying. After the police called and told us what happened your mother freaked out. Obviously. She was ready to run down to the police station and get you. I convinced her you probably wanted some alone time. Eddy's mother called us crying trying to apologize for what happened. Apparently her and her husband are going through a divorce and Eddy didn't take it well. That and a bunch of other things piled on top of each other really messed with him. She wasn't trying to defend what he did, just venting I guess. Poor woman".

Edd's mother arrived and began frantically cleaning him off. Under all the blood on his knuckles there were some pretty bad cuts and bruises. This all mortified her. His father made him another sandwich before going off to make some calls. Being the first day of everything starting at their building they needed to have a close eye on everything that was happening. Edd was about ready to pass out out by the time his mother was done. He showered for a long while trying to get himself to relax a bit. His life was never this eventful before, and he wasn't liking it.

Making sure to get everything ready for school tomorrow Edd sent a text to Kevin asking, once again, for a ride in the morning. He saw dozens of texts and missed calls and decided he'd deal with them tomorrow. He really wanted to get some peace and quiet and try to relax before getting to bed. He grabbed his computer and did a quick search of the character who's costume he wanted to make with his father.

"Bucky Barnes". How much could there be to the character Edd thought to himself. "Oh. My". It seems he would be doing a bit of reading before bed.

When morning came and Edd was on his way to school with Kevin he prepared himself for what may happen. Kevin explained to him how word had spread around about the fight. Obviously people were going to be curious, but Edd had nothing to say about it all. He just wanted to get through the day and get back home and begin work on his costume.

Much to Edd's dismay people bugged him all day about what had happened. As he expected. He explained to everyone who asked that he merely defended himself and that was it. Some people wanted to know more and wouldn't stop pestering him. Luckily Kevin was around to back them off. To which Edd was very grateful. He did run into Ed during lunch and received a rib crushing bear hug from him. That actually cheered him up a bit. Ed didn't care about the details of everything and was just happy his friend was alright.

Marie, now leaving lunch was dreading going to her art class. It amazed her how a teacher could ruin something she loved so much. While on her way to her class she saw Edd standing at his locker. She wanted to go and talk to him. You know, make sure he was okay and all that. She would have, except Anna was standing next to him. Marie stopped walking and looked at them, and when she saw Anna give Edd a kiss on his cheek her stomach went in knots and she got really hot. '_Bump__'_

_ "_Watch where your going". Some kid, while texting on his phone, had bumped into Marie, and he was giving her an attitude about it. No. She was having none of that. She grabbed him by the back of his neck and threw him into the lockers next to them.

"What you say"!

"Oh my god please don't hurt me. I'm sorry, I'm sorry!", the boy pleaded. Marie released her grip and shoved him, sending him running down the hall. She then decided to just leave. She couldn't handle going to art right now and just decided to go home. She didn't care what the school or her mom were going to say, she just wasn't doing this right now.


	14. Chapter 14

** AN: I got a message or two about how the whole Eddy thing got played out to fast. Just thought I'd say that it's not over at all. There's still some things he needs to do. Just trying to figure out which path I want to go with him. But it's not resolved just yet. **

Marie hadn't ditched class in a long time, she was hoping her teacher wouldn't really notice her absence. Knowing she couldn't go home just yet, because her mother may have been there, she decided to go to the park right by the school. She could lay in the grass, go on the swings, just relax and cool off for a while.

"That skank kissed Double D. Pft, what should I care. He can do what he wants. He wants to ignore me. Fine. He wants to kiss little redhead skanks. Fine. Do it. I don't even care". Marie plopped herself on the lush green grass, directly in the sun and pulled out her phone. "Oh god! The new Batmobile looks sick"!

"New Batmobile"? Marie raised an eyebrow and looked past her phone to see who said that. "Can I see"? It was a little boy. Must have just gotten out of school. Not hiding her irritation from the child she slowly raised herself off the ground and showed the boy the pictures on the phone. He proceeded to freak out. As you'd expect a small boy to do when they see something as awesome as the Batmobile. His reaction in turn made Marie laugh. Something she desperately needed to do today. "Do you like the new Bat Suit"?

"I do. Looks much better then the one from the last bunch of movies". Marie couldn't believe she was sitting here having a conversation with this child.

"Did you see the armor he wears too?!", the boy screamed with excitement. "Looks just like the one he wears in the Dark Knight Returns". Marie was impressed this boy knew so much about Batman. She went on to quiz him and test his knowledge, and while they had some major differences in what they preferred, he definitely knew his stuff.

"Dean! What are you doing? Stop bugging the poor girl". A women who Marie could only assume was the boy's mother came running over. "I'm so sorry Ms. Hope he didn't bother you to much". Surprisingly this was the most she'd enjoyed a conversation in a long time. She was usually not very fond of children but this kid, Dean, was alright.

"He wasn't bothering me. It's no big deal".

"Come on Dean, your sisters are all ready, let's get home".

"Wait one second". He turned to Marie. "Nightwing or Red Hood"? Marie smiled and unzipped the small jacket she was wearing to reveal the Red Hood logo on her shirt. The boy did the same, but with the Nightwing symbol. She laughed again and waved to them as they walked away. It was almost two. School was about to let out so she could start making her way home.

She arrived home to an empty house. Her mother works ever changing hours so there's no telling when she had to go in, or when she was coming home. Marie faced a difficult decision now. Eat and then shower, or shower then eat. She felt dirty but was so hungry. Boil water for Ramen while taking a shower! Brilliant, she thought to herself. So a quick shower later Marie threw on some pajamas and ran down to start her food. She also checked her phone to see a missed call from Lee. After her sisters went out to live with their fathers Marie had a chance to sort of mature and grow up. She changed a lot. However it was Lee who had changed the most of all the sisters. For the better too. She was still a hot head at times but was a lot more mellowed out now. She took school very seriously and spent a lot of time volunteering to help clean her community parks and forests. She was all about saving the wildlife and all that. She made sure to call Marie at least once a week to check in on everything. As weird as it was the two of them became a lot closer after they stopped living together. However Marie was hungry and in a bad mood so she would just call her back later. For now she was going to lay in her bed, eat her food, and start watching season two of Arrow on Netflix.

"Yes father the cast is setting as we speak. I'll look into that as soon as I can. Okay, bye". Edd and his father were making progress with their project. This one required a full arm prosthetic. A cast of Edd's arm was to be sure they made it the proper size. And with that being done for the time being Edd could go locate the next thing he needed. He hopped on his computer to find the number of a few stores in town. While doing so he realized how soar his body had become. The climbing really took it's toll on him. Surly the encounter with Eddy didn't help ether.

After making a call to a few places Edd found what he was looking for and headed out to pick it up. It was at a thrift store. Edd loved going to them during his travels with his parents. You'd find the oddest things there. In this case he was looking for a mannequin to keep the costume he and his father were making on. He needed a full body one and most stores only had a head, or body. Really lucked out with this one. Edd had never been inside this store so he had no idea how huge it really was. He couldn't imagine the kinds of things he could find if he took the time to look. He made his way to the front counter to await assistance.

"Hey dude.", he heard from behind the counter. "You called about the mannequin right Double D"? Edd had no idea Nazz worked here. Was she the one he talked to over the phone? No, couldn't be, he would have noticed.

"Hello Nazz. Yes, I was the one who called about the mannequin". Nazz grabbed a rather large box and placed it on the counter.

"I hate these things. I always feel like the second I turn away from one it's going to come to life and attack me. I was so happy to put it in a box and get it out of here. Now if only I could get rid of the room full of them we still have".

"Well I'm sure I'll be needing more in the coming months.", Edd smiled to his friend.

"Sooner the better. Oh! You've been spending a lot of time with Marie lately haven't you? Do you know what happened to her today"? It was only now that Edd was realizing that he hadn't really spoken to Marie as of late. So he had no idea what Nazz was talking about. "I have English with her second period and she was there, but in fourth period Art she wasn't. On my way to class I thought I heard some kid crying about Marie hurting him. You don't know anything about it"?

"I'm afraid not. Hopefully it's nothing serious, and she just had some sort of appointment or something of that nature. Well, I must be going now. Thank you for the mannequin".

"No problem. I'll give you a discount on the rest if you buy them all"!

Edd couldn't help himself from thinking about Marie now. Was the last time he talked to her that night at her house? Being with her all day everyday had become such a normal thing it was hard for him to believe he had gone so long without seeing or talking to her. _Ring ring_. Edd stopped and answered his phone. It was Kevin, asking if Edd wanted to go climbing again. He did, but he was soar and wouldn't be able to for long. None the less he said yes and Kevin said he'd come pick him up.

Kevin immediately tackled the hard stuff while Edd just barely made it up the beginner course. His body just was not used to this kind of activity anymore. He foresaw an ice bath in his future. Taking a break, Edd found a table to catch his breath at. Looking around it seemed like there were a lot more people then last time.

"Hello Eddward". Edd heard the familiar voice of Anna greeting him. So he greeted her back and she sat at the table with him. She told him how the whole incident with him and Eddy had gotten a brief mention on the local news and they mentioned this place. Apparently a lot of people didn't know about it and a lot of them signed up. Her uncle decided to make a new course that would change every single day. It would be a little while before it was finished being set up though. He thought that would be a good way to keep the people coming.

Edd and Anna talked for what they thought was merely a few minutes, but when Kevin showed up at the table letting them know it had been over an hour they couldn't believe it. Edd decided it was time to get back and try to climb again, so he said goodbye to Anna and joined Kevin once more. What he didn't realize was that the whole time he was talking with Anna he started drawing a design for a new climbing course. It wasn't anything more then a doodle really, but it still looked great. Anna decided to take it, she doubted Edd would care.

Edd only climbed for another thirty minutes and had to stop. He didn't want to overdue it and kill his still frail body by pushing to hard. After coming off the wall Edd was approached by Anna's uncle John. He showed him the doodle he drew and talked about how Anna talked him up like he was some sort of genius. As another way to make amends for what happened he offered Edd a chance to design a real course to be built. And if the design was good and customers enjoyed it, he could do it again, and be paid for it. Designing something like this would be no trouble for him and the possibility of getting paid if he did a good enough job was very appealing to him. So he gladly accepted. Kevin insisted on giving advice on how to make it. Edd sort of tuned him out and thought of how he wanted to do it. He couldn't wait to get started.

"Yeah, so everything is just kind of messy right now Lee. I'd love to come down and visit you soon, but the first long break isn't until November for Thanksgiving. I'm not sure I'll last that long here. If you ever want to come up and rescue me, please, by all means".

"Marie, you home"?

"Moms home, I got to go. Talk to you later". Marie threw her phone and got off her bed to go see her mother. She gave her daughter a kiss and dumped a lot of papers, files, and binders on the dinning room table. She asked how Marie's day was. No matter how busy she was with work the first thing she did when she got home was always talk to her daughter. She asked how her day was, and Marie lied about it. Trying to convince her mother school was going great and she wasn't going out of her mind. Marie's mother knew Marie was clearly lying to her but didn't bring it up. Marie had no way to know, but the school called her mom about her missing last period. Her mother knew Marie wouldn't just walk out of school unprovoked and didn't want to just come home and yell at her and make her even more upset. She wanted to play it out slow and see what Marie did in the coming days before getting to serious about anything. She wasn't exactly a model student herself back when she was in school and Marie's grades were always great. If that stopped being the case there would be a problem. As for now, she would just let her daughter do what she needed to.


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: Quick chapter to get me back into the swing of things. Been writing a new Fic that's been eating up most of my writing time. Nice to switch back to Edd and Marie for a while though. Missed her :) **

**But you should all check out the other one. It's a new type of story for me and I could use all the help I can get to make it not suck! So if you have the time to read a quick chapter, please do! **

The rest of the school week slugged on for Marie, who's frustration with everything only continued to grow. While she hadn't again skipped class, she had almost convinced herself to drop art. It should be an easy decision right? The teacher is awful and aggravates her to no end, but her love of art makes it a little harder then just dropping it.

Needing a break and to just get away from everything, Marie decided this weekend she would camp in the Peach Creek Forest. It was only about a 10 minute drive from her house and being completely surrounded by miles upon miles of trees, streams, and wildlife for a few days sounded absolutely amazing right now. She planned to bring her camera and sketchpad, just immerse herself in all the beauty she'd be around. Away from everything, and everyone.

Being the end of September the weather in Peach Creek was begging to change. It was notorious for having brutal summers and harsh winters, with snow falling as early as early October. Luckily, right now it was still in the high 70s, so Marie could pack lite. Her mother drove her to the forest and pestered her the whole way about always having her phone on and with her. They used to go camping a lot when Marie and her sisters were kids so her mother knew she knew how to get around and not get lost, but like any mother would, she still had panic attacks about Marie being there all alone.

After saying goodbye to her mother, Marie made haste to the trail that would lead her to her favorite camping site. Early on her walk Marie ran into a Park Ranger. Funny enough, it was a man she knew fairly well as he had briefly dated her mother years and years ago. They chatted only for a brief moment and then he had to go look over a different area. The Forest was huge, so there were a good number of Rangers patrolling it at any given moment. The frequency of Marie's visits here made it so she knew most of them, at least on a first name basis.

'_Snap_'. Marie froze in her steps when she heard something behind her. As quietly as she could she turned around and saw a family of deer, not 30 feet away. She got out her camera and started taking pictures. She knew she was no photographer, but she always loved to have pictures of moments like these. After taking a few photos she quietly waited for the deer to move on. They were easily startled and she didn't want to spook them.

Time here flew for Marie, who had already found her campsite, pitched her tent, and started a small fire. It would be a while before it got dark and she wanted everything to be done so she could spend a few hours drawing the scenery. Nature was always her favorite thing to draw. Trees, rivers, mountains, loved it all. Doing this kind thing reminded her why she loved drawing so much. Finally, she felt at peace with everything. Blocking out all the annoyances from school, her teachers, the little brats she was forced to deal with every day.

"Ugh. Why can't I just live out here?", she said aloud.

"Because some creep might sneak up behind you"! Marie practically jumped into a tree when she heard somebody behind her. An older looking man, long gray hair with a park uniform on standing besides her fire. A smile took over Marie's face and she ran to give him a hug. The man's name was Leakee (lay-ah-key) and he was an old friend from back when she'd come camping out here with her family. He spent more time in the forest then anybody and new every twist and turn it took. He sat besides the fire with Marie and they started making S'mores while catching up.

He told Marie how he just recently returned to Peach Creek after years of traveling and exploring the world. He became apart of a rescue unit and helped locate lost hikers and travelers. Which is what he does here now. Luckily no one has gone missing here for more then a couple of hours and nothing serious has happened yet, so he gets to spend most of his time hiking and enjoying the fresh air. In turn, Marie described a short version of all the nonsense going on at school. She even touched on her odd relationship with Edd. Leakee was something of a wise old man and normally loved giving advice on situations such as these.

"Do what makes you happy Marie. You love art. If you dislike the teacher that much, just drop it. You don't owe anyone to stay in there. A classroom isn't the only place you can learn. You immersed yourself in nature and your art reflects your passion for it. As far as the boy troubles, I give the same advice. Do what makes you happy. Always remember...", Leakee's radio went off. Apparently there was some trapped animal nearby. He said goodbye and headed out. Marie, furious that he didn't finish what he was going to tell her, just continued eating and drawing until night finally came, when she passed out under the stars.

Marie never was able to sleep through the night, waking up every few hours usually. Out here though, she had no problems. A squirrel who happened by her camp ran up to her sleeping bag and started to feed on the crumbs left from her meal. Upon waking up she just stared at it, and it stared back. She was actually having a staring contest with a squirrel, and what's more, she lost. Which prompted her to scare the little thing off. Now wake, with leftover food in her stomach, she packed up her stuff and began hiking deeper into the forest.

She soon make her was to a clearing and sat down for a water break. It was there that she saw a lot of movement in the distance. She saw what looked like cars, a tent, and a lot of people. Despite her better judgment she went to take a look. As she thought, there were quite a few cars, a large tent with dozens of tables underneath it, and a large handful of people. Vans with the logo for Rock Venture were sitting in the middle of everything. She watched for a moment before seeing the "Red Head Skank" walk out of one of the cars. This pissed Marie off, but not as much as seeing Edd get out of the same car.

"Damn it".


	16. Chapter 16

**AN: Sorry the past few chapters have been so short. Getting this story where I planned is getting hard. But it'll be there soon. Not sure how long this will go on for but thanks to anyone who read it. And if you have time please check out my other Fic. Trying to get some help on how to improve it. Thanks!**

Marie knew the forest had a lot of cliffs and such that were great for climbing, she saw Leakee do it a lot back in the day, but she would have never guessed that all this would happen. A whole group of people out here to climb. With such a large area for her to hike through the chances of them causing her any real irritation was small, but even so, she came out here to be isolated from everything and the two people she least wanted to see show up. What are the chances?

Marie walked as far away from that area as she could, not wanting any unpleasant interaction to happen. She became overly aware that the people were stretching across to all sides of the forest for their climbs.

"So much for my quiet and peaceful weekend away.", she said, plugging her headphones in and walking off trail to avoid the crowd. She decided to pack up her camp and move it to avoid it being spotted by anyone.

Marie knew of a great spot by a small waterfall that was only a short walk away from her camp. She remembered how she'd go swimming there and was always scared to jump from the top of the waterfall like her mom and sisters. Then Lee pushed her off it, and she loved it. It wasn't nearly hot enough to go in the water now though. Next time though.

When Marie arrived to the waterfall she was disgusted to find trash scattered all around it. She dropped her bags and began cleaning it, quickly coming across a box that had a bird's nest inside it. She grabbed the largest branches she could and placed them on all sides of the box to prevent it from blowing away if the weather got bad. She went into her bag and pulled out a towel, and placed it across the top of the box to help keep rain out. She had a soft spot for animals. Liked them a lot more then she liked people.

Spending much more time cleaning then she would have liked (where's Lee when you actually need her) Marie made a fire, pulled out a small pot, and filled it with popcorn kernels. Her mouth was already salivating at the thought of all the popcorn she'd have in a few minutes.

"Hm?", Marie heard chirping. A bird was perched directly beside her looking at her. She assumed it was the bird who's nest she fixed up. She took the popcorn off the fire and blew on it, taking a small handful and throwing it into her mouth. She looked at the bird, who was still just there beside her. Marie grabbed one popped kernel from her pot and held out her hand to the bird. It was hesitant at first, but it reached onto her hand at took the popcorn, then it flew to it's box. Shortly after returning to Marie, seemingly wanting more. She threw a handful right at the bird, her way of telling it to go away, she didn't want to share anymore of her food.

The day was coming to a close and the sun was starting to set. Marie was laying on her blanket, looking at the sky and listening to the waterfall next to her.

"Alright, you should be good Anna. Start climbing". Oh what the hell? Marie got up and looked around, spotting a group of kids climbing a rock wall near the waterfall. Of all the places, how in the world does this kind of thing keep happening? They happen to show up here at the same time she does, and now they're this far in the forest? She saw Anna, Kevin, and two other kids. One boy one girl. No Edd. Marie knew they wouldn't be here much longer, climbing at night just seemed like it would be a big no no. So instead of packing up and going somewhere else she decided to wait it out. They honestly weren't that loud. Maybe it'll be fine. Then she heard it.

"Ah!", Anna, screaming, then a loud thud. Followed by the panicked screams of the three others.

"Anna!", once voice screamed.

"Oh my god, she's not moving!", cried another.

"What do we do, we need help"! She knew shed needed to help. 'Damn it, why am I such a nice person', she thought to herself.

Marie ran over to the group, forcing her way past Kevin and the others to check on the Ska... Anna.

"Marie? What the hell",

"Shut up and give her space.", Marie said, cutting him off. "Anyone have any bandages, extra shirt, anything to stop the blood"? One of the boys gave Marie one of his shirts. She tied it tight around Anna's arm. There was a deep cut. It looked really bad. She needed more help then Marie could give her. "Anna. Anna can you hear me"? She was fading in and out of consciousness. Marie lifted up her shirt and saw another nasty cut across her ribs. This wasn't good. "You three go get help. She probably has broken ribs so carrying her all the way back to your camp isn't going to happen. You need someone to get a car out here. The Park Rangers drive along the trails all the time so it shouldn't be hard. I'll try and keep her awake. Go"! The kids sprinted off to get help while Marie tried to keep Anna up and alert. The blood she was loosing from the cut on her ribs needed to be stopped. Marie hesitantly took off her sweeter and wrapped it around Anna. Her favorite jacket ruined, all for this girl she hated.

The boys shouldn't take long to get back to the camp, it was getting really dark out and Anna's only going to get worse. Marie was trying to get her to talk, stay awake. She was holding Anna up against herself now, getting blood over all her cloths.

"I don't feel good Marie".

"You'll be fine, just try and stay awake, help will be here soon".

"I'm so dizzy. My body feels numb. Am... am I dying"?

"Jesus, no Anna, you're not dying. Yet. I still may kill you for ruining my favorite sweater". Anna coughed and a lot of blood spilled from her mouth. Marie wiped as much of the blood from Anna's face as she could. "Marie. Why do you hate me"?

"Oh stop it. I don't hate you.", she decides to stay awake and talk and this is what she brings up?

"Is it because of Eddward? I know you two were really close. I didn't mean for anything to happen".

"Alright Anna, enough of all that. I think I hear a car. You're going to be fine. Okay, try and get up. Slowly though. We don't know how broken you are.

"You're a wonderful person Marie. Thanks for not letting me die". Anna picked up her head and planted a kiss on Marie's lips. Which Marie didn't pull back from right away.

"Alright, we'll let that slide because you're dying and ditzy from all the blood you lost". Several cars pulled up and people rushed around the two girls. Anna was gracefully picked up and placed in one the vehicles.

"Marie, will you be at the hospital"?

"Yeah, sure, I'll be there". One of the men offered Marie a ride but she had to go pack up her camp and get in touch with her mom and tell her what was going on. She'd go to the hospital, but not right away. She needed to go home and shower first, and think about some things. Like why she enjoyed that kiss so much. "Ew, there's blood all over my face. Damn it Anna".


	17. Chapter 17

Having to cut her camping trip short was a huge annoyance to Marie who just wanted some time to herself away from everything. Granted, she did pretty much save someone's life, so if there had to be a reason for it, she had a pretty great one. She did find it odd that Anna wanted her at the hospital, though. Sure, she had just saved her life and all, but why want her there? Not like they were great buddies or anything. None the less, Marie said she'd go and so she would. If nothing more just to get Anna's parents to give her money for her ruined sweater.

Marie's mother rushed to get her after hearing the story of what happened. She was both insanely proud of her daughter and mortified that she had to go through something like this. Marie insisted they wait until tomorrow to go check on Anna, thinking she would be knocked out all night or possibly in surgery or something of the sort right now and wanted to give her parents a chance to be alone with her.

As soon as Marie walked in her front door she immediately ran into the shower. She was drenched in blood, and it wasn't an easy thing to get off. No matter how hard she scrubbed, or how hot the water got, she still saw and smelled the blood. After the longest shower Marie had ever taken she dressed herself in some old pajamas and grabbed her blood soaked cloths and walked outside. Knowing she'd never get them clean enough to wear again she tossed them in the garbage. Marie was tired and completely done with this day.

Dreams of Anna's bloody body on her caused Marie to wake up constantly throughout the night. She's never had issues with blood or anything like that, but having a dying girl in her arms, literally gushing blood on her...Marie had every right to be a little shaken up. She couldn't imagine how Anna was feeling. If she was even awake yet that is.

Marie had her mother bring her to the hospital to check on Anna around noon. Part of her wanted Anna to still be sleeping so she wouldn't have to find a way to make conversation with her. She ran into Anna's parents on her way in. They were just leaving, and her mother squeezed the life out of Marie. She went on about how she saved her daughter's life and all that. Anna was laying in a bed with a few IVs sticking out of her. She looked like hell. There were bandages wrapped around her head, not unlike the one Marie sported after her own fall. A cast on her arm and large band aid looking things all over her. Marie knocked on the open door, feeling it would be rude just barging in. Anna smiled as much as she was able when she saw Marie.

"Come in, Marie!", she said excitedly.

"Hey, how you doing?", seemed like a stupid question.

"A lot better now. These IVs are making everything better". Anna noticed the clearly uncomfortable look on Marie's face.

"How bad of shape are you in"?

"I bashed my head really bad, they say I had a concussion. The fall wasn't that far but I still managed to get sliced open by a rock on the way down. Somehow my ribs are only bruised and not broken. The cut was really deep and will probably end up being a scar though. You can tell by the caste, but my arm did break when I landed. The doctors said the cut there wasn't bad and would go away by the time the cast came off. So that's something. They also said I couldn't have afforded to lose any more blood then I did. So you pretty much did save my life".

"Heh, go me.", Marie whispered. She felt really uncomfortable right now and couldn't figure out why. She noticed a Kindle next to Anna's bed. "Whatcha reading?", she asked, trying to change the subject as quickly as she could.

"Oh, just rereading the Harry Potter books. Love them so much". So did Marie. "I read a bit this morning but lost the mood for it pretty quick. I'm going to be in here a while without anything to do now". Marie keeps feeling worse and worse for her. She had an idea for something fun she could do to pass the time.

"Have you ever watched A Very Potter Musical"?

"A few friends have mentioned it before but no, I've never seen it". Marie grabbed Anna's Kindle and got online to bring up the Musical.

"Here. It's the best thing you'll ever watch. Time will fly by and you'll be out of here in no time".

"Thanks Marie. Would you watch it with me? It's pretty lonely in here since my parents left". Marie thought about it for a second. She had planed on swinging by here and making sure Anna was alive, then go home and watch Netflix all day. Now she couldn't get the musical out of her head. What the hell, she thought.

"Make room". Marie climbed into Anna's bed. If she was going to stay here for three hours she was going to be comfortable. "Can you get them to send food in"?

Marie stayed for hours until the musical was over.

"Oh wow, three already? Didn't think I'd be here this long". Marie got out of the bed and stretched. "Ah, lightheaded". She sat back down.

"Thanks for keeping me company Marie. And for not letting me die". Marie felt Anna's arms around her. Normally she'd throw them off. But after everything, what harm could letting her hug her do?

"No problem. Hey, you have a missed call".

"Would yo mind checking it for me? The IVs won't let me reach that far". Marie picked Anna's phone up, and the missed all was from Edd. Anna noticed the look on Marie's face again. This time she couldn't tell if Marie was angry or about to cry.

"Has Double D stopped by at all"?

"He was here most of the night. He left about an hour before you stopped by".

"Oh. Well. That's good. Where was he last night when you fell"?

"Back at the camp. He didn't want to do any climbing but agreed to come and help set up, prepare food and help anyone who got hurt. Kind of funny, in a morbid sort of way huh"? Marie faked a little smile. "Marie. I know it's none of my business, and you don't exactly think of us as friends or anything, but, is everything okay? Every time Eddward gets mentioned you look like you're going to lose it". Marie didn't think she was being that obvious about it.

"No. Everything's fine, thanks. Been a while since I've gotten to talk to him is all".

"Well he's got a lot on him mind lately with the move and all".

"Excuse me? Move? What are you talking about"?

"Oh gosh, did you not know? Why wouldn't he tell you. I hope he won't be mad I blabbed".

"Anna, focus, what are you talking about?

"You know about Eddward's parents new business right? Well after they set up here they're moving to New York and asked him if he'd want to go with them and finish up his senior year there". Marie was again getting the feeling of pure rage , and the desire to cry.

"Sorry Anna, I have to go". Marie bolted out the door. She was going to go pound an answer out of Edd. She stepped out of the hospital and of course it was pouring out. She thought nothing of it and just ran. All the way to Edd's house. On the way so many thoughts ran through her head. Why didn't he say anything? Was he even going to tell her? Why tell Anna and not her? How bad was she going to hurt him when she got there.

Edd's house was in sight. The front door was right there. She knocked, hard. Again and again. The car was gone from the driveway so maybe he wasn't even home? That didn't stop her. She heard the lock turning and stopped knocking. The door opened and Edd stood in front of her. He looked completely shocked to see Marie.

"Marie? What are you", '_SLAP'. _Marie's hand left a throbbing imprint on Edd's face. Marie didn't know if it was the rain, or her tears running down her face. She can't believe she just did that. Judging from his expression, Edd sort of knew it was coming. Or he at least like he deserved it. "Guess we have some stuff to talk about? Come in".

**I just started a new Ed, Edd, n Eddy story. All the characters go to Jurassic Park. Please check it out if you can!**


	18. Chapter 18

**AN: I started a new Ed, Edd, n Eddy fic called JurassEd Park. The kids all go to a working Jurassic Park and have to survive when all hell breaks loose. So if you get tired of this one, maybe check that one out?**

Marie quickly made her way inside Edd's home. Her hand, still stinging from the impact with his face, was numb, as was the rest of her body. She was heavily regretting her decision to run here in the rain. Edd, being the gentlemen he always was, ran over to his living room couch and grabbed a blanket that was resting there and wrapped it tightly around Marie. He said something about making some tea, Marie however was still replaying her earlier actions in her head and didn't catch what he was saying. She didn't even notice he had left the room. Or that she was now sitting on the couch in the living room.

Marie's mind was going a mile a minute, not knowing how to process the situation she found herself in. She behaved so brashly, charging into Edd's house and striking him. Marie rested her cold forehead on her (slightly) warmer hands as she waited for Edd's return. What would she say? What could she say? Thinking this out more could have saved a lot of unnecessary stress. The incessant ticking of the nearby clock's hand was driving Marie mad. And where was Edd? He'd been gone for what seemed like an eternity, though, it had probably only been a few minutes, tops.

The weather outside was getting worse, more intense. The rain fell harder, a nearby flash of lightning, followed shortly thereafter by a monstrous clap of thunder echoed in her ear.

"Oh my, the weather is certainly getting bad, isn't it?" said Edd, returning to the room with two cups of tea in his hands. Marie felt herself begin to smile once she saw him but immediately fought the urge. He held out her cup, which her trembling hands quickly grasped, taking in the heat that emanated from it. Edd sat on the far side of the couch, feeling it would be safest for himself, at least, for the moment.

Marie opened her mouth, trying to speak, but, couldn't. Was it because she just didn't know what to say? Or because she was just to scared to be having this conversation?

"Marie," Edd said moving just a bit closer to the blue haired girl. "Whatever you need to say, you can. There's nothing we can't talk to each other about". Another clap, even louder then the last struck, seemingly symbolizing Marie snapping a little.

"Nothing we can't say to each other!" she yelled, now standing up and looking down at Edd. "We can say anything to each other Edd? Well, how come I have to hear you're fucking moving to New York from a girl laying in a hospital bed, huh? Why couldn't we talk about that"? Marie fists were clenched so tight, her head so hot, vision so blurred. She didn't like this feeling, not one bit. Edd, as composed as he'd ever been, needed to find a way to calm her down, obviously without saying 'calm down', because that will probably just get him slapped again.

"I know it won't help anything, but I did want to talk to you about it. Weather or not I move out there is still undecided and a decision I don't have to make until next year. I didn't think there was a point in talking to you about it until I knew for sure what I wanted to do". His words only seemed to make Marie more irate. Her heart was pounding as she felt the urge to throw her cup against the wall.

"So you can't talk to me about it but you can with Anna? Someone you just met"! Marie was feeling sick to her stomach. "You know Edd. You were the one person in this town I liked being with. Always making me laugh, not being like those childish brats we're forced to be with at school. This isn't about me being upset because of how I felt about you. You were the one real friend I had here, but I guess we just aren't as close as I thought we were. Stupid me for thinking we were". Marie threw off the blanket she'd been wearing and ran over to the front door and threw it open, surprisingly enough revealing Edd's father".

"Hello Marie" he tried to say before Marie forced her way passed him and ran home. Edd's father entered his house and saw Edd sitting on the couch, crushed. "Son?" he said, now sitting besides Edd, with his arm around him. "What's up"? Edd remained silent for a bit. When he finally did explain the situation to his father all he could ask was "Well, why did you tell others about it, but not Marie"? Edd thought about it for a minute. He mentioned it to one or two people, but went out of his way to make sure Marie never heard about it. Why would he not be able to tell her? Edd also remembered what he said to Nazz a few days prior, about how he actually hadn't spoken to Marie much lately. He relayed all of this information to his father, hoping he could come to a sensible conclusion about why Edd was doing this. His father, now taking a sip from the cup Marie left behind, shared his thoughts with his son. "Seems to me like you're trying to push Marie away, so maybe if you decide to leave with us, it won't hurt her, or you, as bad". Always insightful to every situation, Edd was grateful to be able to talk to his father about things like this. It made sense didn't it? Was he purposefully pushing Marie back? He cared a great deal for her, she could even be seen as his beast friend.

Edd sat there listening to the pounding of the rain on the windows, and the claps of thunder for some time, deep in thought. Surely Marie would understand his actions if he explained everything in the way his father did to him. However he wasn't sure. A quick glance out the window and Edd noticed the rain had for the most part let up. He grabbed an umbrella, just in case, and decided to go stretch his legs. Anna asked him to stop by again if he had the chance. Must be bored out of her mind there.

Making his way through the light drizzle that remained, Edd quickly arrived at the hospital and found his way to Anna's room once more. Saying she was delighted to see him would have been an understatement. The doctors were still running a few tests to make sure she was in good enough health to leave. The hospital room was pretty cold. The constant beeping of the machines by Anna's bed made Edd very uncomfortable. He couldn't imagine what being in here for days at a time would do.

Edd figured the food they fed Anna would probably be sub-pare to say the least, so he brought a little snack for her to munch on of in case the food here was not to her liking. Brownies covered in fudge frosting. Way to sweet for Edd's taste but Anna just loved them. She thanked him for the gift and motioned for him to take the seat beside her bed. She was instantly able to see something was bothering him. Not that he was making to much of an effort to hide it. Edd spent the next few minutes explaining what had gone down with Marie. Anna took the blame for it all since she 'spilled the beans' so to speak. Edd told her what his father said to him about pushing Marie away to lessen the pain, if his decision did in fact cause him to leave. Anna agreed that what his father said made sense. Anyone in a similar situation would more then likely do something similar.

"I just don't know what to say to her to make things better. Or if I should even try. Seems like her hating me will only make leaving easier". Anna had never seen Edd in a gloomy mood before. She squeezed his cheeks together to get his attention.

"Eddward, that is a terrible thing to say". Her warm hands felt wonderful against his cold face. "She's your best friend. Say you did leave with your guys relationship like it is. You'd go off living your life knowing you never fixed things. Maybe knowing that, that you could have left on a good note, stayed in touch and stayed friends, would make being away that much harder. Then you couldn't fix things. I don't know what you're going to decide to do, but if you do leave, you owe it to Marie to leave on a good note don't you"? Edd nodded his head. She was right. Leaving behind everyone here would be tough, but doing so on a bad note would wreck him. Even if it would hurt saying goodbye, knowing she hated him would be just a bit worse.

"I'm sorry Anna. I've spent this whole time talking about my problems why you're bedridden in a hospital. How are you feeling"?

"It's fine Eddward, and I'm fine. My arm will be good in a few weeks, my ribs too. They want to make sure there was nothing missed in my head. I should be good to leave tomorrow. Won't be in school, but getting out of here will be a welcomed first step". Just then a nurse walked in the room.

"Anna, we're going to do some more x-rays in a few minutes".

"Thanks Clair". Edd decided it would be best to go now so Anna could get taken care of. He said his goodbye and made his way home. Anna had asked him if it wouldn't be to much trouble to get the work from school tomorrow, or however long she's out, and bring it to her. Which he was more then happy to do for her.

Edd spent the remainder of his day trying to figure out how he could make things up to Marie. He came up with a few ideas that he could try. He was going to have to run to a few stores on the way home. The thought of it made him nervous, but he couldn't risk losing a friend like this, so he was prepared to do whatever he had to in order to fix things.

The early morning at Peach Creek High was never fun. Packed hallways, long lines at the vending machines, very loud conversations about the 'crazy' weekend people had. Marie couldn't stand it. She just wanted to get some chocolate milk from the cafeteria and go to class. After managing to get her beverage Marie had to run to her locker, where she saw a few girls standing around. She was preparing herself to tell them all off when she noticed a single white rose sticking out of her locker. Apparently this was some huge deal to the other girls. A prime reason Marie had no girlfriends. She threw open her locker, crushing the flower sticking out of it and quickly made her way to class.

After first period Marie again had to make a quick stop to her locker, and once more a rose was sticking out of it. This time however, it was purple, with a small sticky note attached to it.

'You don't like white, how about Purple?'

Purple was her favorite color, the flower also smelled just like her favorite perfume. She threw the rose into her locker and moved on.

Soon it was time for lunch and Marie sat alone in the cafeteria, as she'd been doing for a while now. Almost as soon as she sat down Edd joined her. She didn't say anything at first and he just looked at her and smiled. After a few moments of awkward silence Marie finally spoke up.

"Did you really think I wouldn't know it was you Double D?" she said without looking up from her food. "A few flowers aren't going to change anything". Edd, still smiling, reached into his backpack and pulled out a cookie the size of his head and handed it to Marie. A simple apology. A giant cookie with 'I'm Sorry' written on it. Edd knew Marie very well. So he knew the best way to make her forgive him would be to give her some ridiculous sweet. Marie tried and tried to resist, but she couldn't. She took the cookie and started eating it with a huge smile plastered on her face. Edd took that opportunity to tell her what he and his father talked about. Then what he and Anna talked about and how if he decided to leave, he didn't want their relationship to be ruined and wanted them to remain as close as they could be. Marie stopped eating the giant cookie, now greatly reduced in size, and took a second to look at Edd.

"So you think I'm fat"? Edd was taken completely by surprise by that.

"Excuse me?" he said nervously.

"You think the only way I'll forgive you is by giving me a 10 pound cookie? What are you trying to say"!? Edd panicked, but only for a moment before realizing what was happening. His face lit up, and he leaned over the table and kissed Marie's cheek.

"I missed you". Marie smiled, her cheeks a tint of red, and continued eating her cookie.

"You need to make more of these".

"I figured. I have a few more at home".

"So you do think I'm fat! How many of these did you think I could eat Eddward"!


	19. Chapter 19

Before heading home Edd had to grab some work for Anna, as he promised he would. This had been a very calm day in an otherwise hectic series of days for Edd. Now at the end, he was just happy he could say his relationship with Marie (whatever that may be) is fixed after some bad choices he made, Anna was going to be fine in a matter of weeks, and most importantly, Edd had been able to spend a lot of time working with his father. Everything was looking great. This great place Edd was in put some crazy thoughts into his head.

"No no Eddward" he said aloud, shaking his head. "Well, maybe. Oh, you don't have time for this right now". He placed all of Anna's work assignments in his backpack and headed out to her house to deliver it to her.

"Hey! You're supposed to hold open doors for cute girls you know". Edd faced back to see Marie standing behind the school doors. In a panic he went and opened them for her.

"I'm sorry Marie, I didn't see you there".

"Of course you didn't. Why would anyone notice me?" she said while draiping her arm across her face in shame. Edd shot her a 'I'm not amused' look. She wrapped her arm around his and pulled on him to start walking. "So whatcha up to when you get home?" she asked.

"Nothing much really. Before I head home I have to stop at Anna's and drop off some work she asked me to get for her. Would you care to join me"? Marie wasn't sure if she should go. She still didn't exactly like Anna. But she did want to make sure she was doing okay at home. She was a caring person. Definitely didn't want to go just to make sure Anna and Edd didn't try anything. That would be crazy. So she put on a smile and nodded her head.

During their walk Edd had brought up all the recent movie news from both Marvel and DC. This obvious made Marie ecstatic. Both because she needed someone to freak out about all of it to, and because Edd was taking a big interest in them. She knew he'd probably never pick up a comic, but just the fact he was into the movies was almost as good. He said his favorite movie so far was Winter Soldier, which was Marie's as well.

"This is her house? Jesus, is she rich"?

"I'd say her family does rather well for themselves. Come on". The duo made their way up a rather long driveway and up to the front door, which had a large lion's head door knocker on it. Marie immediately pounded it against the door, smiling the while. A few short seconds later the door opened and a little girl stood in it's place.

"You're not the pizza man." she said, looking disappointed.

"I'm sorry, we don't have your pizza. You must be Anna's sister. Is she home"?

"Yeah, she's laying on the couch. ANNA! SOME BOYS ARE HERE FOR YOU"!

"Isn't she charming" Marie said under her breath. Anna's sister walked them to the living room where Anna was resting. "Oh come on. A suit of armor? Who has that in their house"?

"Well, actually". Marie's expression made it clear Edd should not finish that thought.

"Eddward, Marie, hello". Anna seemed to be in great spirits. She was wrapped under sheets and sheets of blankets.

"Warm enough?" Marie teased. Edd nudged her with his shoulder.

"How are you feeling Anna"?

"Good. They gave me a lot of pills to help the pain. Still hurts a bit to much to move, so I'm pretty much confined to the couch all day and night. I have books, but that's only fun for so long".

"Well at least now you can study." Edd grabbed all of Anna's work from his bag and handed it to her".

"Thanks so much for getting all of this for me Eddward".

"Think nothing of it. Um, would you mind if used your restroom"?

"Of course not, up those stairs, it's the second door on the left". Edd leaving the room left Marie alone with Anna. She had no idea what to say. Standing in silence seemed weird. Well if she wanted to talk she could start. It's not Marie's job to entertain her. She's just sitting there, smiling.

"Sooo." she said, kicking her feet. Luckily someone opening the front door and calling for Anna distracted them both from their lack of conversation. It was Anna's parents. Her mother walked in the room. She said hello to Marie and went over and gave her daughter a kiss. Immediately after, Anna's father walked in, greeted Marie, and gave Anna a kiss.

"Huh, you really like kissing people." she joked.

"Excuse me?" Anna replied.

"Oh, nothing, seeing that just made me remember after your accident, while I was trying to stop you from bleeding out. You kissed me".

"What?" Anna yelled, blushing quite heavily.

"I know I'm a bad kisser, but you completely forgot about it"?

"I'm so sorry Marie. I would never. That's just a way to say hello, or thank you, where I grew up. It must have have been a reflex, I'm so sorry to do that". Anna clearly felt awful about it. Marie regretted bringing it up.

"Don't have to apologize. Wasn't bad or anything, just took me by surprise is all". Eddward made his return from his unusually long bathroom break just as their conversation came to a close on that subject. He and Marie said there goodbyes and headed home.

"Anna was blushing pretty bad. What were you two talking about"? Marie dodged the question by talking about how hungry she was.

'_Come on Eddward. You can do it_', he thought to himself.

"Hey Double D, you feel like making me something to eat"?

"Of course not Marie. It would be my pleasure". '_I failed. Again_'.

"Awesome! I'm to beat from all this walking to make anything. And I can take some of those other cookies you made off your hands for you".

"When their houses came into view they saw Edd's father stepping out of the front door.

"Father? What are you doing home"?

"Hello Edd, Marie, you're looking lovely today".

"Oh thanks, I try, I try".

"Dad." Edd said with a hint of irritation in his voice.

"Oh relax son. I had a little bit of a break at work and decided to swing by and put the final touches on the outfit. I assumed you'd be home, but I guess you were, occupied".

"Outfit?" Marie asked.

"Yes, my father and I wanted to get back into working on projects together and decided to start on a replica outfit from a movie. Since it's done, would you like to see it"?

"Hell yeah! Show me, show me"!

"Love the excitement! Why can't you get hyped like that Eddward"? Edd's father ran back into the house, excited to show off the work he and his son did.

"You're dad is awesome. Kind of cute too".

"Please Marie. Just...just stop".

Edd and his father lead Marie to their basement workshop. She had been there once before, but it was changed around a lot now. Edd's father threw a tarp over the outfit so he could give it a grant unavailing.

"Ready?" he asked. Not waiting for an answer he ripped it off.

"You did not!" Marie screamed.

"How amazing doe sit look? Think we did a pretty good job, right son"?

"I does look pretty great dad". The costume they decided to replicate was the one of the Winter Soldier. Edd knew right after he and Marie watched the movie that he wanted to make it. He was beyond excited about how it turned out. He and his father really made a great team.

"You actually made the arm out of metal? Most people just use foam. Which one of you is it made for"?

"Me." Edd responded.

"Put it on, please! I wanna see you in it".

"Later. I'm all sweaty and dirty. All the work we put into it, I'd like to keep it as clean as possible. I will later, I promise". Marie was thoroughly disappointed, but knew Edd would keep his promise.

"I have an outfit I need to get taken in a little bit. Would you mind doing it? I know nothing about this sort of thing and I'd hate to ruin it. Cost a fortune".

"Of course, bring it by this weekend and I'll take a look at it".

Edd's father had to return to work leaving Edd and Marie alone once more. And as he promised, he made Marie a little snack. It was just a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but Marie didn't seem to mind in the slightest. After some pestering by Marie Edd decided to take a quick shower so he could try on the costume, make sure everything fit and looked right. As cool as it would be to wear it, Edd cared much more for the details, for getting it to be a perfect match to the one in the movie. Though, after he put it on and looked at himself in a mirror. He felt amazing. Marie was literally drooling over him in it.

"You look amazing!" Marie yelled while feeling and touching him everywhere. "You could seriously make a fortune making cosplay for people".

"Cosplay"? Edd had never heard the term. "What is it"?

"This." she replied. "People making costumes of characters from movies, video games, cartoons, anything. The outfit I asked you to take in for me is one. I got it last year and wore it to a local convention. Oh my god, you need to come with me! Everyone would love this".

"I'll think about it. You sure it looks good"? The mirror had pictures of the costume from the movie at every possible angle.

"Yes Double D, it looks perfect". Edd felt great pride in the work he and his father put into this. He was glad Marie appreciated it. And a whole convention full of people who walk around in these sort of elaborate costumes actually sounded really cool to him. Perhaps he would have to go.

"As fun as it is being in this, the fact it takes 20 minutes to put everything on, and it's 1,000 degrees in it makes it a slightly less thrilling idea".

"Oh stop whining. Can you breath out of that mask"?

"Not even a little".

Edd quickly removed the costume, and immediately complained about how sweaty he had become again after just taking a shower. Marie had to be getting home to help her mother bring in a new set of furniture she just bought. Marie got to keep the old ones and use them on her balcony, so she was pretty excited. The sofa she had out there ow was messed up from all the rain they'd been getting.

_'Now's your chance Eddward, DO IT!'_

_ "_Um, Marie". He paused.

"Yeah"? Why was it so hard to talk now? He never had a problem speaking to her before. A long pause, Marie was looking both irritated and confused.

"Would you, like to, go out to dinner, with me, tomorrow night?" He barely managed to mutter out. It seemed like his words didn't register with Marie at first. A few moments that seemed like an eternity passed by. Marie was still just looking at him with a blank expression. He made a mistake. Why would he think this was a good idea after everything that happened? He wished he had somewhere to run and hide.

"Yes!" Marie finally answered. "I mean, yeah. Sure. Whatever. Tomorrow's fine. Pick somewhere fancy". She backed out of the front door, still facing Edd, and backing right into a hanging plant on the porch. She began running home after that, hiding her embarrassment.

His heart was racing a million miles a minute. He actually asked Marie out on a date. He finally did it. Now he needed to plan it all out. The night had to go perfectly.

"Maybe I should wear the suit. No, no. That would be ridiculous".

**AN: Thanks for reading, check out my other Edd, Ed, n Eddy fic if you'd like. JurassEd Park!**


	20. Chapter 20

**AN: Okay, this has been the longest I've ever gone without updating. Just wasn't feeling like writing. I wrote this yesterday as a 'Halloween special' type thing but it turned into this. I couldn't think of a better first date for Edd to take Marie on. I meant to post it last night, but I started watching Gravity Falls and time escaped me. That show is fantastic. Anyways. Hope you like it, thanks for reading!**

Alright Eddward, this was your idea. You know she'd love it, she was excited when you brought it up. It's just a building. A normal, everyday building. Nothing to freak out about. Edd wiped his palms on his pants. Better get ready. Marie will be over soon.

_ 'Earlier that day'_

'_Ring ring_', Eddward heard his alarm go off. He however, had long been awake. He gently stopped the alarm and got out of his bed. A quick glance out his window gave Edd a nice feeling. He could see Marie's bedroom light on. He couldn't stop thinking about their date later this evening. He had it all planed out. He made the reservations last night right after she left. He hasn't stopped thinking about her since.

Edd found himself leaving for school much sooner then usual today. He had some things he needed to take care of before classes started and wanted to make sure there was enough time. As soon as he exited his home he saw Kevin putting several trunks into his car. He wasn't one to get up this early. Feeling inclined to see what he was doing, Edd walked over to greet Kevin.

"Good morning Kevin. Need any help?" he asked.

"Hey man, nah, I got this. These are the last of the trunks".

"If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing out here so early"?

"I have to head down to the Asylum before school starts today. They open tonight and there's still a few things that need to be done".

"The Asylum?" Edd asked. He had never heard of it.

"Oh man, it's crazy! There was an old abandoned building downtown, it's huge! Every year the guy who bought it turns it into a huge haunted house. Trap doors, hidden rooms, people dressed as Zombies, killers, and psychos chasing you. He pays good money for people to help him set up. I did it last year and he liked my ideas so he asked me to come back and help out this year. You should come down tonight. I have a few free tickets to give out. Take Marie. She seems like the type to love that kind of thing". Kevin reached into his car and grabbed two tickets and handed them to Edd. "You're supposed to dress up too. You should come. See ya there!" he said before quickly riding off down the street. Edd looked at the tickets for a moment then headed out for school.

For the first time ever Edd wasn't able to focus in his classes. Obviously he couldn't stop thinking about his date later this evening. Between first and second period classes he did a quick search on his phone about the Asylum. The general consensus was it was a genuinely terrifying experience. It was open everyday of October. Edd would see Marie at lunch in just a little bit. He had to be sure to ask her about it. He thought surprising her with something like this would usually be a great idea. However, going to a haunted house and going out to a fancy dinner were very different things and just in case Marie really wanted to go eat it would probably be best to ask her which she wanted to do.

Third period bell rang and Edd raced to lunch. Finding the table he and Marie usually shared.

"Hiya Puddin." Edd heard called from behind him. He smiled and greeted Marie, who was now sitting across from him with three little cartons of chocolate milk.

"So, Marie. Have yo ever heard of a place called the Asylum"?

"Yep. I went with Lee and May a few years ago. Scared the crap out of us. Why"? Edd took out the tickets Kevin had given him.

"Kevin works there and gave me two tickets to the opening tonight. I thought it would be something nice to surprise you with, but it's around the same time as the dinner reservations and I didn't know if you'd mind missing that to go".

"Hell yeah I want to go!" Marie yelled. "And we have to go in costumes! This is going to be so much fun! You really know how to treat a girl to a first date". Edd put on a smile and nodded his head. If he was being completely honest here, he wasn't overly fond of haunted house type things. He was always easily frightened by things popping out of dark corners. But, in light of Marie's excitement, he would suck it up.

"Great. So would you like to meet at my house around 6 tonight then"?

"Sounds like a plan".

_6:00_

Edd got into his Winter Soldier costume, once again admiring the work he and his father were able to do. Coincidentally, Edd's hair was almost a perfect match for the characters. He just needed to crinkle it up a little bit. He couldn't remember the last time he had gone out of the house without his hat.

'Knock knock'

Edd nervously walked over to the door. He and Marie were together almost nonstop since he came back this summer, so why was he so nervous? Just because they were going on a date? They had basically been dating for months. He opened the door. Marie was in full costume as well.

"How do I look"? She looked fantastic. Edd wasn't familiar with what character she was dressed as, but he couldn't stop staring non the less. Marie took notice of Edd's staring and started posing. "Looks good, right"?

"You look wonderful Marie. Who are you dressed as"?

"Harley Quinn. You let your hair down?!" she said, surprised.

"Of course. It wouldn't look right without the hair".

"You do have the perfect hair for this, but I never thought I'd see you leave your house without your hat. But enough talking, let's go"! She grabbed Edd's hand and they were off. The Asylum wasn't to far, but still about a 15 minute walk. "I should have rethought this costume. My legs are freezing"! The only good part about Edd's costume having so many pieces and being heavy was he stayed nice and warm in weather like this.

The walk was surprisingly quiet. Normally they could just talk about whatever. They both felt a bit nervous. And apparently so did people walking by them. Edd's outfit alone caused a child or two to run the other direction screaming. Marie was doing her best to look insane whenever someone walked by. Edd felt bad when they frightened a little old lady walking out of her car. Marie thought it was hilarious.

"Kind of crazy how we haven't really said anything yet huh?" Marie asked, with a hint of nervousness in her voice.

"Well, over the past few months we've sort of covered everything people usually talk about on a first date". That was all that was said during the walk. Until of course, they saw the building.

"Woah".

"Woah indeed". The building was enormous. The outside of it looked, disturbing, to say the least. "I'm not sure how parents feel this is a safe place for their children to come".

"Oh lighten up Double D, this is going to be great! And look around. We obviously have the best costumes here". Marie ran into the building with Edd trailing behind her. She couldn't wait to get going through the building.

There was a lot more people there then Edd had anticipated. He didn't know just how big of a thing this place was. Someone walking by sneezed right next to Edd's face.

"Well that's disgusting". He immediately put on his mask. The lack of breathing was a small price to pay for not inhaling all the filthy germs swarming around this place.

For being so packed with people everything was strangely organized. There were multiple security guards by the entrances, workers separating people into large groups, and lots of people working behind desks, doing something important for sure.

"Kevin"? Edd grabbed Marie's hand and walked over to a counter where he saw his friend working.

"Be with you in a minute man." Kevin said, obviously not able to tell it was Edd. He took off his mask and Kevin started laughing. "Damn Double D, didn't even recognize you. Kick ass costume. I take it that's Marie under all that face paint"? Marie waved. She didn't much care for Kevin, but he was nice enough to give Edd the tickets to come here, so she would be nice, just for today. "I wasn't sure if you were going to come. Most of the groups were filled up right after we opened. But just in case, I saved two spots on the first group for you guys. It's the group over by that door. It'll start in a few minutes. I'll be over to go over all the rules and everything soon".

It wasn't long before their group was taken into another room to be prepped . Kevin stood in front of the group, dressed as a zombie. A quick glance around and almost everybody was dressed the same. Why were zombies so popular? Edd couldn't stand them himself.

"Alright everyone, my name is Kevin and I'm the marshal of this group. I just need to go over a couple of things before sending you in. First. In the maze you WILL be chased by zombies, vampires, and other sorts of monster as you try to find the exit. There are children here so be careful not to run them over. Second. There are a bunch of doors hidden in the walls and trap doors on the floor. They lead you to new exciting places. In case you hurt yourself, or someone else, while falling through one, please just yell Marshal as loud as you can and I will be with you as quickly as possible. Three. If you are caught by a monster you must exit the maze. If you look to the walls you'll see colored lines. Orange leads back here to the entrance. Follow that and you're good. The monsters mark you with a neon pant, so don't try to cheat. And last, the winner, or winners, get free admission to another round. Okay, that's everything, now, there are four doors here, choose which one you want and go though. Good luck. Have fun. Don't hurt each other. I don't want to have to run in and get you". Members of the group started flying through the doors. Marie grabbed Edd's hand and forced her way by most of the group, giving them a bit of a head start. Something Edd was just learning about Marie was she's, at times, entirely overly competitive.

The building had walls taken out and added on, making it a crazy maze with no logical pattern to it. On more then one occasion Edd and Marie had hit dead ends. When they came across a path that seemed to go somewhere, Marie walked back, as if it were a dead end, just to trick the people trailing them. Giving them more of a lead.

"Oh my god, this was a mistake, a huge mistake"!

"Ahhh"! They heard constant screams coming from other parts of the maze. Children crying. Women and men alike screaming at the things chasing them.

_ 'Click'_

The lights in the hallway Edd, Marie, and a three others were walking down started shutting off. A boy of the other group, nearly in tears, started running in the other direction, flailing his arms and whimpering.

"Jeez. Why are you guys with him." Marie bluntly asked, not holding back her laughter.

"Ahh!", 'THUD'. A scream. A loud boom. And then nothing. The kid vanished. Two lights in the hallway turned back on. One in front of them, one behind.

"Do you guys hear that?" Edd said, shushing the rest of the group. Everybody stood silent and listened closely. The squeak of shoes trailing quickly down the hall echoed all around them.

"Uuuuunnnngg~"!

"What was that!?" the couple with Edd and Marie yelled in unison.

"Zombies?" Marie said, thinking out loud.

"Run! Run now"! Someone screamed from down the hall.

'_Click_'

A small noise caught all of their attention. A very thick fog started pouring into the hallway.

"Wow, they are really going all out on this aren't they?" Marie said, clearly enjoying herself more then most of the people in the maze.

"Ashley? Ashley where are you"?

"I'm right here Brent! Grab my arm, I can barely see".

"Um, I hate to point out the obvious, but those grunts are getting louder". The group tried to carefully make their way down the dark, fog filled hallway without running into anything.

"Double D"? No response. "Double D, where are you! Damn it, I can barely see a thing. Ugh!" Marie was pulled into a corner.

"Marie, calm down, it's me".

"Double D? Where are we"?

"Behind a table, a few lockers and chairs. They were laying here in the corner. I thought we could use them to hide".

"Why would we need to hide? And how did you see this stuff? I can barely see five feet in front of me".

"My goggles. You don't honestly think I'd come here unprepared do you"? Edd removed his goggles and put them on Marie.

"You have night vision on these? That's the coolest".

"That grunting we heard was close. I figure letting them pass would help us. Sounded like there were a lot of them. They must be guarding the path out right"?

"Ouch, my leg! Ashley, are you alright"?

"Yeah, can you get up"?

"Yeah, just give me a second".

"Come on Marie we have to make sure he's alright". Marie held Edd down. "What are you"?

"Uuuuunnnngg~"! The grunts seemed to be right on top of them now. Edd grabbed his goggles back from Marie and found where Brent and Ashley had fallen.

"Ahhh! Brent"!

"Someone help"! The Zombies were literally dragging them away.

"Double D, what's going on?" Marie whispered.

"You don't want to know". These guys take this a bit to seriously.

The zombies slowly made their way back the way they came. Screams were heard shortly after. Marie and Edd went as quick as they could.

"Hey Marie. I think there's a door here. Look how the fog is blowing away from the wall here. Should we try and go through it"?

"Hm...". Marie looked around. "Hey!" she yelled to a small group nearby. "There's a door in the wall here and we can't get it open. Could you give us a hand"? The group ran over, excited, thinking they had a way out now. Marie backed herself and Edd up from the wall and went out of sight.

"Marie, what are we".

"Shh". She pointed to the group.

"Hey, I think I",

"Bleh!" followed by the shrieking of scared teens. A vampire popped out of the door and got all three kids, pulling them into his room, then closed the door.

"Marie. How did you know"?

"Come on Double D. That door was to obvious to be anything good! There was obviously something hiding behind it. And now we have three less people to beat". As mean as what Marie just did was, Edd couldn't help but be impressed by her quick thinking and strategy. The group they came in with wasn't all that big. 25 to 30 people max. They had witnessed 5 people lose, how many more could there be this late in the game?

"Attention all Maze Runners." Kevin's voice announced over the loud speakers. "As of right now there are only 7 entrants left. We're sending more monsters in to make this more fun. Good luck, hahahaha"!

Wanting nothing more then to win, Marie was in a full sprint trying to find the way out. She straight up tackled a lone zombie wondering the halls. Edd, trailing behind her due to his heavy suit, checked on him to make sure Marie hadn't killed him.

"Thank god, he's just unconscious".

"Damn it! Another dead end". They had to find yet another path.

By some unbelievable coincidence, Edd and Marie heard some of the other people coming up the hallway.

"Well. These are the only two hallways here. Ether they missed something or we did. What should we do Marie"? Marie dug into her pockets and pulled out some lipstick. "Is this really the time to be fixing your make-up"?

"Always make time to look good Double D. Does your Key chain still have a little flashlight on it"?

"Yes, why"?

"Give it". Edd obeyed Marie's order. She proceeded to smear the lipstick all over her face, and ran behind some object in the hallway. The people they had heard had finally enter the hallway, There were three of them. All boys. Edd laid against the wall in an attempt to stay hidden. The fog in the hallway was pretty bad. Luckily his mask prevented him from inhaling to much of it.

The boys were moving petty fast down the hall. As soon as they were in front of Marie she popped out, light shining up at her face, showing her really disturbing looking face. The boys all screamed and fell backwards. Doing so caused one of them to hit a switch on the ground, opening a trap door. Two of them fell right in. The drop seemed to be about 10 feet onto a large blue cushion that took all the impact of the fall.

"You guys alright?" the boy who didn't fall called down to his friends.

"Yeah man, were fi, OH MY GOD!" A swarm of zombies surrounded them and dragged them off. They all knew they were just people dressed up, but the building, their make up, everything made it all seem so real. The boy cried over his lost teammates. He however quickly turned his attention to Marie. "You killed them!" he yelled. Marie turned off the flash light and ran down the hall. As soon as the boy turned to chase her he stood face to face with Edd. Normally, he wasn't any sort of intimidating. But the fog, Edd's mask and costume. He looked terrifying.

"Terribly sorry about this." Edd said before using his metal arm to shove the boy down the trap door to be taken by the zombies. Marie stood next to him as they watched the zombies take the boy away.

"You pushed him in there? That's so unlike you." she said with a huge smile plastered on her face.

"Well. Yes. But it's our first date, and you want to win. I had to do it". Marie planted a kiss on Edd's cheek.

"You're such a sweetheart".

Traversing the maze the duo found a door, obscured by random junk in the hallway the boys had come down. It led them to another long hallway with a door halfway down. Unfortunately for them, the remaining two entrants were entering the hallway from the other side. Both teams were equal distance from the door. Marie was the first to start running towards it. The girl from the other side did the same.

"What!" they both cried out. The door began to be covered. By the time they both got there, it was gone.

"Oh come on!" Marie yelled. All four of them reached around the wall trying to find some switch.

"Contestants!" Kevin's voice again came over the speakers. "Congratulations! You almost got to the door before I closed it. I'm sorry to say this is where your time in the maze comes to an end. Good try though".

"What's he talking about"? The clicking of locks being undone filled the hallway. As did more fog.

"Uuuuunnnngg~"!

"Damn it, they're surrounding us with Zombies".

"Jeez how many people do they have working here as Zombies"?

"Double D what do we do"? Edd looked around. There were plenty of tables and chairs in the hallway. Could they use those? Having no other option, Edd grabbed a chair and and put it on a table. He climbed on top of the chair and lifted up on of the ceiling tiles. They could drop right down into the next room. He pulled Marie onto the table and dove over. Marie followed suit, but not before kicking down the chair so the other two couldn't follow them.

Once they both dropped down to the next room Kevin came on over the speakers for a final time.

"And that's it everybody! The winners are Double D and Marie"! Thunderous applause filled the building. Edd and Marie walked out to the entrance of the building were their group were all standing around multiple huge television screens showing areas of the maze.

"That was all being filmed Kevin"?

"Sure was Double D. Congratulations on winning. Got to say, seeing you toss that guy into the trap door was hilarious. Didn't think you had it in ya. Guess Marie's rubbing off on you. As promised. Here are your free passes".

"Can we get a copy of the video?" Marie asked.

"Sure man. I'll get a copy ready and give it to you at school tomorrow". Marie and Edd went to refresh themselves. Water bottles were given out after each round. Marie dumped hers on her head, while Edd, not wanting to ruin his costume just drank it.

"You know Double D. If I had to envision the perfect first date, It wouldn't have even come close to this. Thanks so much for taking me".

"I must admit, I had my reservations about this place. But I cannot remember the last time I had so much fun".

"Well, we have free passes to do it again. Want to take a guess where we're going to date number two"?

"Hey guys." Kevin walked over holding a clipboard. "Everyone loved watching you two take out other contestants. Surprisingly not a lot of people think to do that. If you want, you can go back in there, but be on the 'Monster' side and take out the runners. Terrifying in there. The mask, the fog, The metal arm. Having you walk through the maze chasing down people. It would be awesome. Oh! And we would pay you to do it.

"Hell yeah!" Marie shouted. She looked at Edd.

"I suppose I could as well. But Kevin, won't everyone who watched us know how to get out"?

"Nope. The best part about this place is it changes every time. There are foe walls that we slide in and out to completely change the maze around. We have charts of everywhere there are trap doors and hidden doors. You can look it over and figure out what you want to do".

"Getting paid to scare little kids in the dark. Why have I not been doing this for years"? Marie ran off to get more water.

"Hell of a first date dude. She seemed to love it. We all saw that kiss she gave you".

"It was just on the cheek Kevin. Not that big of a deal".

"It wil be by the time you guys go home. Don't screw it up with her. You guys are a good fit". Edd looked at Marie drenching herself with more water. He could just smile at her. They really were a pretty good fit, weren't they?

**AN: I never thought I'd actually get this far into this story. I wrote down a short outline showing I wanted this to be 40ish chapters, with Edd and Marie's first real date happening on 20. Glad I sort of stuck to that. After I wrote the first chapter I wrote what I thought would be the last one too. Obviously I'll have to change little things, but it'll be fun building up to that from now on. Thanks for sticking with this for so long!**


	21. Chapter 21

**AN: So when I uploaded the last chapter last week apparently some of it didn't copy over. No idea how that happened. I was just going to paste it onto that chapter but decided to add a bit and make a short mini chapter since I haven't been to good on updating this lately. Gravity Falls fic has been eating my time .**

Edd and Marie were leisurely making their way back to their homes. Both were exhausted from hours of chasing people through the Asylum. Marie had her arm locked around Edd's. She hadn't stopped smiling the entire night, and neither had Edd, though you couldn't tell because his mask.

Edd had no expectation of really enjoying this night. He obviously longed for his first date with Marie, but this wasn't an activity that was in his comfort zone. Maybe it was being with Marie. Maybe it was the fact he couldn't even recognize himself in the mirror. There was something, and whatever it was, allowed him to have the most fun he'd ever had.

"I still can't get over how bad ass you looked throwing people into that trap door all night. I kept imagining you apologizing to everyone when you did it too." Marie chuckled to herself. She wasn't wrong though. Edd made a point to say he was sorry each time he tossed somebody in. Or, that was the plan anyways. After a while he actually started to really enjoying sneaking up on people in the fog and tossing them. "They said we could go back anytime we'd like. Think maybe this weekend you'd want to suit up again"?

"Huh. Maybe next weekend. I don't think I can take much longer in this thing. Pretty sure I shed ten pounds tonight. Washing it is going to be such a pain". Marie giggled at Edd's dread. He had noticed she was doing that a lot tonight. Giggling. He took it as a sign she was having a good time.

Their homes soon came into sight and Edd couldn't be more relieved. He wanted nothing more then to take a long shower and get into bed. Marie wanted nothing but for this night not to end. This was her first date, and it went perfectly.

The duo decided to sit down on Edd's front porch for a few minutes before the went their separate ways for the night. Edd was gazing up at the starlit sky, Marie was resting her head on his shoulder. They were in a place of bliss. After all this time they were finally here. The both couldn't help but wonder why it took so long. Non the less, they were just happy they got here.

When Marie finally stood up to leave it became very, very awkward. They both knew what they wanted. But they both just sort of froze.

"So...yeah. Thanks for the date. It was great! I had a lot of fun". Edd noticed Marie rubbing the back of her neck. It was something she did when she got nervous. He knew she wasn't going to make a move. So he would have to do it. He grabbed Marie's waste and pulled her to him. Her face completely lit up. She never expected Edd to be the one to make the first move. But she was beyond thrilled he was.

'This is it. Finally!' she thought to herself. She closed her eyes and puckered her lips. She felt Edd's breath hitting her face. 'This is really happening'!

"Eddward, Marie. I didn't know you two were back from your date". Edd's front door was open and his mother stood over them. Marie's face was frozen in place, her lips puckered, but her eyes wide. She couldn't break the pose. "Are you alright dear"?

"Yeah! Yes, I'm fine. Double D, thanks for a wonderful night, I'll see you tomorrow". Marie ran off as fast as she could over to her yard. In typical Marie fashion she tripped over her mother's lawn ornaments. 'Of course that just happened'! She turned and waved to Edd and his mother before entering her home.

"I like her," Edd's mother said. Edd returned a smile and went up to shower. He was ready for bed.

Edd's mother sat in the living room while Edd showered.

"That was a low blow hun".

"I haven't the faintest what you mean Ronald".

"Oh? So you didn't wait by the door all night for Edd to come back? And when you saw him with Marie you didn't watch them and ruin their first kiss"?

"Oh, so you were watching them too then"!

"Of course I was. I needed to make sure my son finished the date right and gave Marie a kiss. Which, you ruined".

"That is just ridiculous. Marie is a wonderful girl. Why would I ruin my boy's night on purpose like that?

"We both know why".

"Please, I",

"Dear. Stop...We know it could happen. You think I haven't thought about it too? When he makes his decision on weather or not to come with us I want him to make an honest choice. He has a life here. If he doesn't want to give that up then he doesn't have to. We have no right to try and interfere". Rose sat there nearly in tears at her husband's words. He wrapped himself around his wife and gave her a kiss. "Everything will work out in the end love. As long as Eddward is happy. That's all that matters".


	22. Chapter 22

A loud alarm screeched in Marie's ears. Slamming her hand on her nightstand trying to stop it, several times, proved fruitless. With barely open eyes she lifted her head and punched the alarm clock, sending it across her bedroom floor. Unfortunately for Marie, the clocks journey across her room didn't stop it.

"Ugh, come on!" she yelled, literally crawling out of her bed onto the floor to get to her tormenter. "Got you." she said, standing up. Opening her bedroom window with a sick smile on her face, Marie had cruel intentions in mind. "Have a nice trip!" she yelled as she launched the clock out her window. For a moment, a feeling of accomplishment and victory came over her. That was of course, until she realized she needed the clock and would now have to go outside in this freezing weather and search for it. So she grabbed a jacket from a large pile in the corner of her room and slowly made her way outside. It didn't take long for Marie to find it as the alarm was still going off. "Unbelievable. Hm? Who's that"? Marie happened to look up to Edd's house where he was on his porch talking to a women. Short, blonde, early forties maybe. She was holding a letter and seemed like she had been crying, but she was smiling. She handed Edd the letter and went off. Edd happened to see Marie standing in her yard and gave her a wave. She did the same, causing Edd to look perplexed at the alarm in her hand. Marie hid it behind her back and ran back inside. She needed to get ready for school.

It never took Marie long to get ready in the morning. She would throw on whatever clean cloths she came across first, eat some toast, make some cocoa to go, and head out. Today was a rare day her mother was home in the morning and offered her a ride. As much as Marie enjoyed walking to school with Edd, she wasn't a fan of the freezing weather. So she sent him a text telling him her mom was giving her a ride and she'd see him at lunch. After her date last night, Marie came home, showered, and went right to bed. Se wasn't awake when her mom got home so they haven't had a chance to talk about it yet. Almost immediately after Marie entered her mother's car she began pestering about every detail.

"So did you guys make out"?

"Mom"! Marie's mother had no filter.

"Oh come on, he's cute, you're adorable, obviously a mother wonders. So did ya"?

"No mom, we didn't." she answered with a pout, pretty bummed that they didn't.

"You're such a wuss".

"His mother walked out on us! Didn't even get a kiss".

"Well that's ridiculous. I saw the outfit you were wearing. He didn't make a move all night? Sure he's not. You know".

"You can drop me off here, I'm fine walking the rest of the way".

"Look, all I'm saying is obviously you wanted him to do something, and he didn't".

"He's a gentleman mom. I'd rather not waste my time with some guy who's only goal is getting in my pants". They pulled up to the schools parking lot. "Thanks for the ride".

"Oh lose the attitude Marie, I was just kidding around. Don't forget your Cocoa. Love ya".

"Love you too". Marie exited the car and immediately became aware of the snowflakes falling from the sky. "Yeah. It would be snowing already". She hustled into school so she could get to class fast. Her English class was working on creative writing for the next few weeks and it was something Marie couldn't wait to get started on. Her teacher, Ms. Domm, was her favorite. Unlike other teachers she didn't insist there was one correct way to do things and encouraged different thinking. She was greeted by Ms. Domm with a smile. Marie was usually the first student in class, that gave them a few minutes to chat about things.

Edd arrived to school shortly after Marie. Even with the cold weather he still enjoyed the walk. Of course when the snow really started to pile up he would have to get a ride with Kevin or someone. Edd's first class was History today. Edd was grateful it was his first class of the day. It was no secret Edd hated the mornings and the atmosphere of the class always put him in a good mood. Between Rolf and his crazy stories and Kevin and Mr. West taking playful shots at each other, it was a relaxing environment to be in.

On his way to his locker, Edd saw Kevin and Mr. West talking outside his classroom. Kevin was holding a C-D or DVD and looked excited. Mr West took it and Kevin smiled. Not thinking anything of it Edd carried on at his locker and made his way to class.

"Good morning class. Toady we have a different way to start class. Some of you may know of my love for all things horror and Halloween related. Kevin". Kevin stood up at the front of the classroom.

"What up. So, I work at the Asylum. It's a haunted house type thing where you go through an abandoned building while getting chased down by people dressed as Zombies, Vampires, things like that. Whoever can make it out of the maze first wins. Mr. West actually just started working there last night. To get more people aware of it I was asked to make a trailer for the Asylum. Mr. West said I can show it to you guys before class started".

"What does this have to do with History Mr. West"?

"Nothing, I'm in it and it's awesome. Plus, I'm the teacher, so I can do what I want. Start it Kevin". Kevin started the Trailer. The production value was surprisingly great. All footage taken from the opening two days.

"They just drag you away like that?" one student called out. Terrified at the thought of being grabbed and dragged away by Zombies. There were several jump scares that got people to scream a little. One scene showed Mr. West chasing a small group. Another showed Marie scaring some little kids. The one right after it was a close up of Edd, unrecognizable with his hair down and the mask covering his face. The shot then went to him pushing somebody down a trap hole and being dragged away, screaming, by a large group of Zombies. The trailer ended on a full body shot of Edd being surrounded by fog, and disappearing. Everybody in the class applauded Kevin's effort, and the sheer awesomeness of the Asylum. Several of the students asked about the "Bad ass looking guy in the mask".

"The guy in the mask was pretty awesome. He showed up on opening night. Not sure if he'll be back though. If you all buy tickets after school I'll ask him right now if he'll stop by this weekend". Several students got money out and wanted tickets.

"Sadly I can't allow you to buy or sell tickets in school. So that will have to wait until afterwords".

"Yeah, just find me right after last period. I'll be out by the gym. I have plenty of tickets for everybody". The class cheered

"So who is that guy anyways?" one of the female students asked. "He looked cute, even behind the mask. You have to get him to come".

"I'm pretty sure he's taken. But yeah, Double D, you want to show up again his weekend with Marie? Everyone there loved you guys, and people were bummed you weren't there last night". There were loud gasps when Kevin reveled it was Edd behind the mask.

"That was you Eddward?" Not even Mr. West knew. Edd simply nodded his head.

"Haho! Rolf did not recognize you Edd boy. I would very much enjoy seeing this in person, yes"? The whole class was looking at Edd, waiting for an answer.

"Sure Kevin. I'll see if Marie would like to join as well".

"Awesome, the boss wanted to meet you guys too. Oh. Here's a copy of your guys run in the maze. Marie asked for it and I told her I'd be sure to give to one of you today".

"Alright alright, enough fun. Time to talk about History".

The class, as usual, went by fast.

"Double D Edd boy." Rolf called out while walking to his next class.

"Yes Rolf"?

"So, you finally took the Blue haired one out for a date yes"?

"I suppose so, yes. A rather odd first date, but she seemed to enjoy herself".

"Hahaha, Rolf always knew you would be together".

"Thanks Rolf, but one date is hardly "together", as you put". Rolf laughed and walked to class, as did Edd.

The lunch bell soon rang and Edd found himself waiting for Marie at their usual table. He had a bunch of things to talk to her about.

"Hiya puddin." Marie called out while taking the seat across from Edd.

"Hello Marie". Edd glanced down to the mug Marie was carrying. "I'm Awesome?" he read off of it.

"We'll, it's true isn't it"? Edd let out a chuckle.

"So in History class, Kevin showed a trailer he made for the Asylum. Apparently Mr. West works there as a Zombie now".

"What? You're kidding? That's great"!

"We were in it as well". Marie lit up. "It showed you scaring the life out of a group of little children, and me pushing someone into a pile of Zombies. People seemed to love it. The class asked if we were going to be back. I told Kevin I'd ask you".

"I already told you I wanted to go back, you said you didn't want to"!

"Well I suppose it's a date then"?

"Of course it is".

"Also. I was wondering if you'd like to come by tonight for Dinner? My parents will be working late and it would be nice to have some company".

"Eddward! Trying to get me to your house, all alone, just the two of us, with a romantic dinner? If I didn't know better I'd think you were trying to get into." Before Marie could finish her thought a girl walked over to their table.

"Hey Double D".

"Hello. I'm sorry, do we know each other?" he asked in his most polite tone.

"Yes, we have History together. I'm Katie. I had to tell you how amazing you looked in that thing Kevin played before class. Very menacing. Very,very sexy". Edd was clearly uncomfortable by how close Katie had gotten to him, even placing her hand on his shoulders. "I was thinking, I'm going to be there Saturday, so why don't we." SPLAT! "Ah! What the hell"? Milk exploded all over the table. Edd, Katie and Marie got it all over themselves. Mostly Katie though.

"Oh my gosh, Katie, I don't know what happened. My milk just exploded all over. You should go wash it out before it stains". Katie left in a huff. Marie did her best to conceal her laughter.

"Really Marie?" Edd said, wiping his face of the residual milk.

"What? She's a little hoe. Obviously she saw us having an conversation and still inserted herself like it was nothing. You know you didn't like her touching you ether".

"Still...that was a rather drastic way to make her stop".

"You're to nice for your own good hun. So, off topic, but, who was that lady at your door this morning"?

"Ms. McGee"?

"Eddy's mom? What did she want"?

"Nothing much, just wanted to talk for a minute is all". Marie got the feeling Edd didn't want to talk about it, so she dropped it and asked more about the dinner Edd had planed for tonight.

"So, what should I wear for our little get together tonight? Something fancy? Cute? Revealing"? A very slight blush came over Edd. "Perv." Marie joked after noticing his blush. The bell signaling the end of lunch hit and Marie gave Edd a hug before heading off. She always got excited when she knew Edd would be making her food. It was always amazing.

** AN: Sorry this chapter wasn't that eventful. I used it to try and set little seeds of things to come. Mostly just wanted to try and get myself back into the habit of writing regularly again. Anyways, thanks for reading. Please Review so I know how bad I'm doing! After 20 chapters you start having trouble coming up with stuff...**


	23. Chapter 23

"Dinner date with Double D. Can't screw this up. What should we talk about? I don't know. What do we usually talk about? Why am I freaking out about this? It'll be fine Marie. He likes you, you like him. Everything will work itself out, just don't over think everything". Marie was walking back home from a game shop down the street from the school. It was freezing out, but she was doing everything she could to avoid going home just yet. She knew as soon as she did she would start freaking out (even more so then she already was) over her date with Edd. When she did finally get home she took a long look at her closet trying to figure out what she was going to wear tonight. She joked with Edd about wearing something revealing and sexy but she wanted to do her best to look proper, dress up , if only a little bit. Show him that she took this seriously. "Ugh, this is hopeless".

"Whatever your cooking smells great son".

"Thank you. Marie will be joining me for dinner so I thought it would be appropriate to be a little extravagant this once".

"If I may make a suggestion. The first date I took your mother on was just a small picnic under a tree during the summer. Maybe don't go so extreme. Get a few dishes made and go sit in front of the fireplace together. It gives a more intimate feeling. Just some food for thought". Edd saw were his father was coming from, but he didn't think a snack in front of a fireplace would be something Marie would enjoy. So, he continued with his massive undertaking of cooking all his fancy food.

Edd didn't realize it, but his mother had been standing in the kitchen door watching him for some time now. She was able to read his body language, it was obvious to her that her son was nervous. She didn't know how bad it was until Edd carelessly knocked a pan off the stove and all over the floor, something Edd would never be clumsy enough to let happen. She ran over and began cleaning it up.

"Thank you mom, I'm sorry to be so careless". His mother tossed out the dirty rag she used to clean the mess and sat down at the kitchen table. She motioned for Edd to join her. She looked her son dead in the eyes. Her gaze was seemed, sad? "Mom, is everything alright?" he asked. She continued looking at him for a moment before placing her hands over her face and letting out a long 'sigh'.

"Eddward. I know your father and I aren't around as much as we'd like to be. Despite that, I always thought you and I had a very close bond, an open relationship where you knew you could tell me anything that was bothering you. I can still remember all those years ago when you Ed and Eddy would come running into the house, covered in lipstick, out of breath from running away from the girls that always chased you around. After they had left and it was only us, you'd tell me everything. Not just about the girls, but everything that was on your mind. I felt lucky that we had a relationship that a lot of mothers never got to have with their sons. Lately, I just can't stop thinking about how that's not how we are anymore. I see you in here, obviously something is bothering you, and for the first time, I just have no idea what's going through your mind". Edd had no idea his mother felt like this. He felt just awful about it. He always loved that he could talk to her about anything going on in his life. With how busy she's been lately, and how distracted he'd been over the past few weeks Edd hadn't even realized how little he and his mother had actually spent time together. He was so upset about them not being around, and when they were, he was off in his own world. "Sweetheart, no!" his mother called out after noticing the horrified look in Edd's eyes. "I didn't mean to make you feel bad. I just, I wanted to let you know that I'm here and am always willing to help you with any problem you have". She ran her fingers through Edd's long silky hair and planted a kiss on his forehead before giving him a huge smile. "By the way, whatever is on the stove is smoking". Edd practically fell out of his chair in his attempt to get over to the stove. His mother couldn't help but laugh before helping him up and tending to the food.

Marie had finally pieced together an outfit she liked and went on to try and distract herself from her impending date. She had her headphones blasting while playing the game she bought earlier in the day.

"Mega Evolve Swampert, kick his ass!" she yelled. Glancing at her clock, Marie knew it was about time to get ready. It didn't take long at all as she only had to change cloths. The make up she wore to school today looked fine and she knew Edd wouldn't care how she looked really. It was one of the things she appreciated most about him. Marie put on a jacket and went out to Edd's house.

The freezing weather made Marie hustle over to Edd's as fast as she could. She pounded on the door, hopping in place in an ill attempt to stay warm. After what seemed like an eternity, Edd opened the door. Before he could even greet her Marie jumped into the house rubbing her arms. She eventually looked over to Edd who was just smiling at her.

"You look amazing." he said in his most charming voice. Marie curtseyed before letting out a laugh. Edd's house was very warm. He took her jacket and hung it by the door.

"Always the perfect gentleman".

"If you'd please. Follow me into the next room". Edd led Marie into the living room, to a section directly in front of the large fireplace adjacent to the Television. Edd retrieved the food he had prepared and placed it all on a mat he had prepared on the floor, to avoid unnecessary messes.

"Dinner by the fireplace? How romantic".

"Honestly, I didn't think you'd like the idea. My father brought it up, and my mother sort of convinced me it would be a good idea".

"So, what's it like having them home again? I know they work a lot and all but it has to be great having them around more now. You always seemed pretty upset about them being gone all the time".

"Of course I love that they're home again, despite the hours they have to spend at their building getting everything set up. Since they've returned I've gotten to spend a lot of time with my father, working on our projects, and I actually had a pretty great conversation with my mother just before they headed out. How about you? You're mother works sporadic hours doesn't she? Do the two of you get to spend a lot of time together"?

"Not much lately to be honest." Marie answered, taking a bite of her pasta. "Don't get me wrong, when she's home we hang around together, we have all of out TV shows we watch together every week. Walking Dead, Family guy, Gotham, Flash, Arrow, things like that. That gives us time to catch up and yell at each other and whatever. She always makes a point to pester me about you".

"Really? What does she ask"?

"Oh. Oh, just. Nothing important." Marie covered her face with her hand to hid the blush overcoming it thinking about the things her mother asks about the two of them. "I haven't really gotten the chance to talk to your mom, but every time your dad is around he seems like such a cool guy to be around. Kind of sucks that we can't have anymore sleepovers now that they're back though." Marie had a devilish grin on her face.

"It truly is a shame isn't it?" Edd replied. "Our late night movies were rather enjoyable". They both chuckled.

"This food is fantastic." Marie said as she took the final bite of her meal. "You could be some kind of master chef. Open your own restaurant. Have your wife and Kids work there. Be together all the time".

"My father used to tell me the same thing. He always has me cooking for him. Which I don't mind of course. He's far to busy to cook, and mother... well, as I've mentioned before, she's just awful in the kitchen".

"Your parents could come in all the time and demand free food. So, have you though about having kids and all that?" Marie seemed hesitant to ask him. Edd took a bite of his food and a sip of his water, as if to be purposefully drawing it out to annoy Marie.

"To be honest I've never really wanted to have kids. I want to get Married before to long, but the work I plan on going into would no doubt require a lot of travel. Even if my children were able to go with me, moving them around all the time, or just not being there for them all the time... I could never put them through that. I have the most wonderful parents, and the feeling I had, expectually when I was younger, when they weren't around. It drove me mad. It's why I was so willing to go along with all that nonsense Eddy and Ed wanted to do. To try and distract myself from this big empty house". Marie had no idea Edd's parents not being around had effected him so much.

"I always pegged you as the type of guy who would want bunch of kids. I can just see you sitting around teaching them how to take a part and build things. How to cook, talk to girls". They both started to laugh again.

"So what about you Marie? Do you want to eventually have a family"? She paused for a bit before answering.

"I think so, yeah. I'm not overly fond of kids, but I think I'd love having a few of my own, you know? Raise them right, teach them the important things in life, like their family, and the little things. Money isn't important, and to do what makes them happy, and all that".

"What did you plan on perusing after your schooling is over with? What's your dream job"?

"You know I love to write. I'd love to get to write for some magazine. Report on nature, art, tell the fantastic stories of the amazing people in the world. Maybe write a book, or some short stories, anything in that realm really. You know, it's amazing that with all the time we spend together this kind of thing has never come up before".

"Good thing too. Second date and I was already out of things to talk about". Marie couldn't help but laugh thinking about how difficult it was to have conversation every time they went on dates.

"So. Dinner is done. What would you like to do"?

"One moment please". Edd excused himself to the kitchen where after a few moments he returned with a large bowl.

"Popcorn?" Marie asked, noticing the familiar smell of her favorite snack.

"Indeed. Homemade. How did I do"? Marie took a large handful and shoved it into her mouth. She immediately coughed and looked like she was going to be sick. Edd was mortified.

"I'm kidding you loser." Marie assured him before finishing off what was left in her mouth. "It tastes fine". A brief look of irritation overtook Edd, only making Marie more pleased with herself. "So we have popcorn, you can't have popcorn with a movie".

"I thought the same thing. So I ordered a Blu-ray set of your favorite movies for us to watch". Edd turned on the television and the screen of Jurassic Park appeared in glorious HD. Marie jumped with joy before lunging onto the couch. Edd sat next to her and started the movie.

The duo spent most of the first movie in silence, just enjoying it, and each others company. Marie did spit off random trivia about the film every chance she could though. From the names of the guys in the Raptor suits to the names given to the animatronic dinosaurs they used. Seeing her reaction to the movie was a joy for Edd to behold. Once the first movie was finished they took a few minutes to chat about it, get some beverages, and then went right into the second movie. It was about 7:00 which meant the movie would end just after 9:00 which is when Edd's parents where due home.

"Two great dates in a row. Better keep this up Eddward".

"I'll do my best." he assured. "Will you be wearing the same outfit to the Asylum this weekend that you did the first time"?

"Yep. With some alterations. I don't want to freeze to death this time so I'll throw some more layers onto it. I cannot wait to see you in costume again. Scaring little kids all night. Pushing people into holes to be dragged off. Jeez. We have weird dates". There was a moment of silence. Marie knew what she wanted now, but it seemed every time she's tried, something would always get in the way at the last second. "So, yeah. Thanks for a fun night. I say after the Asylum we go to my house and watch some more movies. You can see how clean I've gotten my room"!

"Sounds like a plan. We'll obviously need to shower first, but that shouldn't take long at all".

"Already wanting to shower together?" Marie teased.

"Well it would save a bit of water if we just did it together right"? Marie loved when Edd would play along with her like this. It was fun seeing him open up and joke around.

'Alright Marie, this is it. You're about to leave, put your hand on his face and kiss him. You got this. Look how cute you look. He can't resist you'! Marie's inner monolog seemed to help as she was actually going in for a kiss. She didn't want to be one of those girls who waited on the guy to make the move. She would be assertive and do it herself.

"Eddward, we're home".

"Oh you have got to be kidding me!" Marie yelled before slamming her face into a pillow. 'Every damn time'!

"Oh my gosh, did I? Again"?

"Come on sweetheart, let's give the kids some privacy".

"It wasn't even on purposes this time"!

"I know hun".

Marie knew this was going to happen. She should have made her move during the first movie.

"Wait. Did your mom said 'this time'? Did she...never mind". Marie knew the moment was over and she'd have to wait, again, for her chance. Ending the night on a little bit of a low note Marie grabbed her jacket, gave Edd a hug and kiss on the cheek before heading back home, feeling defeated.

The rest of the week Marie couldn't stop looking forward to going back to the Asylum. The first time her and Edd had such a good time, now that they really knew what they were doing it could only get better. The one and only downside was that Katie would be going as well. Tensions between the two got high over the days leading up to the event. It was obvious to both Marie and Edd that Katie wanted Edd and didn't plan on taking a step back.

"Only one more day!" Marie shouted in excitement, taking her seat at her and Edd's lunch table. "It's going to be so much fun". Edd and Marie excitedly discussed their plans for their night at the Asylum. All was great. Until they heard a familiar high pitched voice calling out to Edd.

"Double D, hi!" Katie yelled as she quickly approached their table.

"Hello Katie, how are you?" Edd asked, trying his best to be polite.

"I'm wonderful thanks for asking. So. Tomorrow is the big night. A lot of our classmates are going to be there. You excited to get to scare them all"? Marie cringed with every word Katie said. She hated that she just blatantly didn't care that her and Edd were having a conversation and injected herself whenever she saw fit. Marie did her best to zone out and ignore the girl until she left. That became very difficult when she felt the touch of Katie's milk pouring all over her face. "Oh no, Marie, I'm so sorry. I'm such a klutz". Half of her face and hair was now drenched with chocolate milk. Edd got up and handed Marie some napkins. Katie held out a little make up mirror to "help Marie get her smudged make up off", as she put it. Marie however decided to turn this around.

"Oh my gosh! Double D, look at this. The way the milk made my make up run, and the way it made half my hair flat and wet. I look insane. I should use this look for the Asylum tomorrow"! Katie's jaw dropped. She expected Marie to lash out, not thank her for dumping milk all over her. "I have to go run to the bathroom and take pictures of this so I can do it again tomorrow. Thanks Katie"! Marie began to run off towards the bathroom, but stopped and planted a kiss on Edd's cheek. Just to piss Katie off. "She'll pay for that tomorrow." Marie said to herself. "Going to be a great night".

**AN: I was going to add the Asylum Date to this chapter but decided instead to make it a lot longer then planed and give it it's own chapter in a week or two. Thanks for reading!**


	24. Chapter 24

** AN: Feels like it's been forever since I wrote. Hope this doesn't suck.**

Flakes of snow were gently falling from the sky. Edd, who was making his way home, knew he'd have to abandon these walks now that the weather was finally turning. He had some errands he needed to run before tonight, packages to drop off at the post office, delivering Anna her schoolwork as she was still not well enough to walk. Nothing that took a great amount of time, but Edd felt rushed to get them done. In preparation for his night at the Asylum tonight he had some things he needed to do. For starters, his costume needed some adjusting. It was just to hot to function all night in. The arm prosthetic was also a bit to heavy and he was worried he may accidentally hurt somebody with it. In addition to all of the work he needed to do on his costume he promised Marie he would take in hers a little as well. He knew it wouldn't take very long, but he always got anxious when work piled up like this.

When Edd came to his driveway he noticed an unfamiliar car sitting behind his parents. Upon entering his home he saw his parents standing with a tall Spanish man in what looked like a very expensive suit. They were all laughing, it looked like whatever they were doing was now coming to a close and the man was leaving.

"Eddward." his mother called to him, jestering for him to join the three of them in the other room. "Eddward, this is Mr. Rodriguez". The man held out his hand to shake Edd's.

"A pleasure to meet you Eddward, and please, call me Oliver. No need to be so formal." he said with thick Spanish accent.

"Mr. Rodriguez has invested a lot of his time and money into our company and wanted to go over some ideas he had".

"Yes, your parents tell me you wish to follow in their footsteps and become a doctor as well. That's very ambitious. It's nice to see a young man wishing to make the most of his life. Well Rose, Ronald, I must be going. Please look over what I have given you and let me know what you think of the idea. It may be a few years off, but it's never to early to start planing for," Mr. Rodriguez stopped mid sentence to cover his mouth and let out a terrible cough. "Excuse me." he said, whipping his mouth with a cloth he kept in his front jacket pocket. "My trip to South America has taken a lot out of me. Good day to you all". And with that, he was gone.

Edd's parents were looking over dozens of papers stricken all over the Living room table. He saw multiple suitcases around the room, reminding him that they had to go out of town for a week, starting tomorrow. They've been completely swamped getting everything together, hopefully things will calm down a bit for them if all of their meetings go well. He didn't want to disturb his parents while they were preparing so he went straight to the basement to begin his work.

By his workbench Edd had several manikins, one with his costume, another with Marie's, and several empty ones he picked up a few days prior (Nazz gave him a great discount). The previous few days Edd had began creating a new arm piece for himself, and now he needed to assemble it together. I didn't look as good as the original, but since it was going to be dark in the building no one would get a great look at it anyways. It would, however, be lighter, and posed virtually no risk to harm to anyone.

Assembling the arm, adding the last fine details, took a couple of hours of work, but it all paid off when Edd put it on and was able to move it around with ease. He placed the new arm piece on a separate manikin. His next alteration was to construct a small fan inside the face mask to cool him down and make breathing a little easier. He had all of the parts ready, soldering some wires and mounting it inside the mask didn't take more then half an hour. Pleased with his progress, Edd decided to take a short break before taking in Marie's outfit. Before that however, he recorded his work in a journal he kept at his work bench. Even if he made only slight alterations to something he always recorded it. He had a habit of keeping track of everything he did.

After making a small snack, and taking in Marie's outfit, Edd called her and told her to come by whenever to pick it up. She arrived shortly after with her make up already done, and a comically large hammer in her hands. Edd could only laugh and invite her in.

He brought her to the basement where he had their costumes ready. Marie showed Edd the extra make up and props she had for tonight. She went into another room and changed into her outfit. All the little extra things she added really made the outfit come together. The giant hammer, the spray color in her hair, the crazy make up. She gave Edd a crazy smile and it genuinely scared him. They wasted little time and Edd got himself prepared and they headed out for the Asylum.

"Whoa, and I thought it was packed last time". The Asylum was overflowing with people. They didn't even see a clear path to enter the building. "Guess Kevin did a good job getting the word out, huh"?

"Yo, Double D, Marie". They turned their heads and saw Kevin running at them. "Hey." he said, out of breath from his jog over. "This place is completely sold out tonight. I put the trailer I made on the website and tickets were gone immediately. People are dying to see you guys." Kevin paused. "Nice Hammer." Marie held the hammer to her face and smiled.

"The building looks a little to packed. Is it safe to have so many people there at once"?

"Well there's only going to be so many people in at any given time once the run starts. Everybody is just trying to get their tickets validated right now. Once that's done things will get more organized".

"How long will that take? It's freezing out here!" Marie barked.

"There's a smaller building in back. It's where people get made up as Zombies and everything else. Come wait there. We're trying some new stuff tonight. Plus, we have an idea for a cool entrance for you all to make".

Half an hour passed by and finally things were settling down. Kevin had assembled all of the people working the maze to one spot to make their grand entrance. Normally they just waited inside the building, but since there was such a big turn out, they wanted to do something special.

"Here we go". Loud music started blasting from speakers placed all over the Asylum. It immediately got everybody's attention. "Okay everybody. Start walking". Kevin had organized everybody who was working in the maze into a group and had them marching towards the Asylum. The group was led by Edd at the front. He was walking in a straight line to the Asylum doors. Behind him was Marie, who was sporadically skipping around, and laughing like a lunatic while swinging her hammer. Behind her were the new people, they were covered in body paint to look like demonic creatures. They moved slower then Marie and Edd, twisting their bodies to look as creepy as possible. The end of the marching line were all the zombies, who were moaning and making other non human noises. This was apparently a very effective way to start as several kids started hiding behind their siblings and parents. A lot of cameras were held up taking pictures and videos. Kevin was also recording this all for a new trailer he wanted to make.

The older members of the crowd were loving every second of this. Somehow, amid all of the screaming and chanting Edd had heard someone calling out his name.

"Double D. Double D!" someone called. Edd could tell by the high pitched tone of the voice who it was. He paid no mind to it and continued his path to the Asylum doors. Marie also heard the voice calling out to Edd, but made more of an effort to find where it was coming from. When she did see Katie, yelling and waving to Edd, she decided to have fun with her. She ran up to Katie, who didn't see her coming, at first, and swung her hammer right next to her face. Not close enough to hit her, but close enough to make her scream in fear of it. Afterwords Marie looked right at Katie, smiled, and blew her a kiss.

"Ugh, you freak!" she yelled. Marie happily ignored her remarks and caught up to Edd. Kevin had told them once they got to the doors to stop and let their "Minions" go around them. He said it would give a creepy aura. He seemed maybe a little to into this all. Nonetheless, they did what he asked and stopped at the doors. Dozens of the others passed by ether side of them. They both thought it was actually pretty cool being the leads in something like this. When the last zombie passed them by, they waited a moment, then entered the Asylum, the doors slamming shut hard behind them.

"How'd he get the doors to slam like that?" Marie asked Edd.

"I have no idea".

Everybody took their places inside the maze, waiting for the first group to enter. Everyone who worked there was given a map of the current layout. All the "creatures" were usually confined to specific areas, but Kevin had specifically asked Marie and Edd to move around a bit. Sneaking up on people and scaring the life out of them. Edd thought it would be more effective if he moved around more by using the secret passages hidden throughout the maze and targeted one person out from a group, sending the others into a panic, keeping an air of terror to himself, while Marie blatantly made her presence known and just chased people down, like a lunatic.

The first round began soon after they all took their spots. Edd was waiting in a passage near the entrance so he could see what size groups there were, and who he should go after. Marie went a little further into the maze, crouched down in a corner. She had some fun ideas she wanted to try out. After the last person turned into the second hallway Edd started to move, albeit, slowly, and still confined to the secret paths.

"Oh my god...I'm...so out of breath".

"I didn't think they'd chase us that long. You ready to start again Linda"?

"Just another second, Anne". The girls didn't have a second to spare. The distinct moaning and groaning of Zombies was echoing from behind them. Anne grabbed Linda's hand and they continued down an adjacent hallway, a hallway that unfortunately had no lights on. The girls decided to risk it, not wanting to be seen by them. The girls laid down on the floor hoping they'd go unseen. To their delight, the zombies walked right by the hallway, then a minute later walked back the way they came. The hall the girls were in had only one flickering light to guide their way. Following the dark path they soon saw more light coming from a new hallway. Overjoyed, the girls ran to it.

"You think this is the way out?" Anne gleefully exclaimed. Linda laughed and nodded her head. They wanted to get their pictures on the wall of fame. Everyone who makes it out of the maze got theirs placed on it. So far there were only four people on it for this year. Edd, Marie, Rolf, and Kevin.

"Anne, stop"!

"What, why"? Linda said nothing. "Lin what's,"

"Shh!" she said. "Do you hear that"?

"Hear what? There's nothing in this hallway but us".

"Just stay quiet and listen for a second". Anne was getting annoyed. She wanted to win and wasn't going to let Linda's imagination stop her from doing so.

"Whatever, I'm leav," before she could finish her sentence she heard it to. It was the sound of, whimpering? Someone crying? "Someone's crying". The girls looked around, seeing if anything caught their eyes in the dark hallway. "Lin, over there in the corner"! The girls spotted someone curled up in the corner. The source of the crying.

"It's probably a little girl who got separated from her parents. We have to take her with us". They rushed to the girl, kneeling down next to her, telling her everything was alright and they'd help her. The crying stopped, and that's when the two of them began feeling uneasy. The girl said nothing back to them. She was still huddled down in the shadows so they couldn't see her. The soft sound of muffled laughter came from the girl. Anne and Linda slowly got up and backed away. The girl was now rocking back and forth, barely getting illuminated by the light of the adjacent hallway. She stretched her body across the floor, keeping her head down, laughing louder, and louder, until she sprang up, tears in her eyes from laughing so hard. The girls sprinted away as fast as they could, the laughter getting further and further away from them. Anne looked back and saw nothing following them, so they stopped to catch their breath.

"What the hell"!

"This place is messed up. Let's hurry out of it".

"Yeah, I'm over th..." she stopped. Both girls heard it. Soft breathing coming from behind them.

"HahahahHAHhaHAha"!

"Mom I'm scared".

"Sweetie, it's okay. There's no real monsters in here. Everyone here is just dressed up, like you are when you go trick or treating. They're just trying to make this place fun for you. There's nothing to be scared of, promise". Peter smiled at his mom and continued on with his group. There were thirty people in the first group. Twelve of them were together in the beginning of the maze. Peter, an eleven year old boy was with his mom and brother Keith, who was fourteen. Keith was farther up in the group with some of the older kids.

'_Click'_

"What was that?" Peter asked, grabbing his mothers shirt. She smiled and pointed down to the nozzles pouring fog into he hallway. The lights also began to flicker on and off, leaving only random areas of the hallway lit at any one time. Keith and the older kids scoffed at the attempts to scare them. Peter heard what sounded like a footstep coming from behind him. He turned his head as fast as he could, but the lights were all out, and he saw nothing but the darkness. A moment passed and he heard it again. He looked back and froze when he saw someone standing a few meters away from him, standing perfectly still, just, glaring at him. His face covered by a mask. Peter's heart raced as the man took a step forward. The light immediately went out, and when it returned a few seconds later, there was nothing there. Peter convinced himself he was just seeing things.

"Your little brother looks so scared back there. Why'd your mom even bring him"?

"I don't know man, he always has to tag along whenever I do things. This place isn't even scary, don't know what everybody was talking about".

"You said your older brother came here a few weeks ago and said it was scary didn't he"?

"Yeah, said some guy in a mask almost made him piss himself".

'_Tap Tap Tap_'

"What was that?" a little girl in the front of the group cried out.

'_Tap Tap Tap_'

"Come on Kyle, let's get out of this place". The girl grabbed the hand of a nearby boy and they ran off.

"Can you believe these people?" Keith asked, laughing with a small group of boys.

"You know what? I want to see what it is"! One of the older boys leaned against the lockers lining the wall of the hallway, Keith and few others quickly followed his lead. Peter and his Mother quickly caught up to them.

"Keith, he'll get you if you stay here!" Peter was very worried for his brother. Every time the tapping came back he threw his head back to see if the man he saw earlier really was there, or if he imagined it.

"Get out of here Peter. You're not old enough to handle this kind of stuff. Just go back with mom". Keith and some of the other kids laughed at Peter's fear. And they didn't stop. That is, until the light above them went out. "Oh, so scary". At that moment the glass window of one of the lockers shattered. A metal hand flew out from it and grabbed the neck of the boy standing in front of it. Keith, Peter and all the others in the group collectively screamed. The hand pulled back, knocking the boy into the locker several times before releasing him to the ground. The doors of two lockers flung across the hall. The masked man emerged from them. He focused immediately on the boy on the ground and picked him up. He looked directly at Keith, then smashed the boy into the lockers. Then again. And once more. The boy laid motionless on the floor. Most of the group had begun running away already, but Keith and a few of the boys he was with were literally frozen with fear.

"What's that?" Peter yelled. He was referring to the horde of Zombies quickly making their way down the hallway. The masked man turned to the boys and pounded his metal arm into the nearby lockers, nearly breaking them in half. The boys ran away, possibly peeing themselves. All except Peter, who stood there, stiff as a board. The man looked down at him. He then bent down, got at eye level, and raised his arm. Peter flinched. But nothing happened. He opened his eyes to see the man removing his mask, showing a smiling face.

"I told you Peter. There just people like you. Nothing to be afraid of". The man raised his non metal arm and patted Peter on the head.

"Don't let them forget this Peter." he said with a warm smile. Peter returned the smile and nodded his head. "Now start running. The zombies will tear you apart". Peter and his mom ran off to catch their group.

"And that's it folks! The lone survivor, Peter"! Everyone cheered the young man on, except his brother and his little group who where all pretending like they weren't scared. Peter took his picture and it got put up on the wall of fame.

"Group two please get ready, you're mission begins in 10 minutes"! Kevin left the waiting room and went back to the room with the workers. "You all did great" he shouted, clearly happy about how things went. "Marie, you were terrifying. I think those girls actually cried. Double D, that bit you guys did was amazing".

"Thank you Kevin. I'll admit I wasn't sure I was up for it, but it was surprisingly fun. You sure you're okay Sebastian"? Edd was looking at the boy he was tossing around in the maze.

"Yeah Double D, I'm good. Made it look real didn't I"?

"Very much so. I was convinced I broke your arm". The newest idea for the maze was to have people planted in the groups to get "attacked" by the monsters. Sebastian was one of these people.

"Hey Puddin, you alright? Your face is red as a tomato".

"Yes, I'm fine. The altercations I made to my costume weren't as effective as I thought they'd be". Edd poured a cup of water all over his face and into his mouth.

"Will you be alright to keep going?" Marie asked, clearly worried.

"I assure you Marie, I'm fine". Edd let out a nasty cough after he said that. Marie glared at him. "The water just went down the wrong hole, I'm fine Marie".

"Okay everybody, round two. Get in there"! Everybody cheered and found their way to their spots.

The second round went very similarly to the first. Edd and Sebastian upped their little show, making it look more brutal, and having Marie lure people to them. Edd also got to use the trap doors in the floors to catch some of the runners. It was always eerie seeing them being dragged away by zombies.

After the second round Edd removed some of his costume and went outside to get some fresh air. The falling snow felt wonderful on his hot face. He grabbed some snow from a pile nearby and burred his face in it.

"You who, Double D!" he heard a familiar high pitched voice call out. Katie was now standing besides him.

"Hello Katie. Did you already go through the maze"?

"No silly, I'm in the next group. I'm so excited to see you in there, looking all scary and sexy". Edd returned a smile. Frankly, he was to tired to try and carry on with a conversation he wanted no part in. He said he needed to get back and hurried away from her as fast as he could.

"Hey Double D. We're going to open the upstairs for this run. This is the map of the new layout and all the secret stairways you can use to get around. Okay, everybody, in the maze"!

Inside the maze Katie and her friends, Erika and Jane followed a bigger group around, hoping to run into Edd.

"Katie, why did you drag us to this thing"?

"Because I wasn't going to come alone, and I need to make my move on Double D".

"Isn't he dating that Kanker girl, what's her face. Marie"?

"Oh please. Why would he want that when he can have me". A thick screen of fog and a dark hallway caused the girls to be separated from the bigger group and brought to a dimly lit hallway. The girls could see graffiti all over the walls and broken lockers and tables scattered about.

_ 'Crash Crash'_

"What was that"?

"Come on Erika, don't tell me you're actually scared of some pathetic little noise".

"That wasn't little".

'_CRASH CRASH_' The noise rang louder. It sounded like something heavy bashing against metal.

"haHAHAhahHahh"!

"Okay, I'm done. How do I get out of here".

"Oh will you stop it, you really think anything in here is going to be able to hurt you? Jeez, grow up will you"!

'_CRASH CRASH_'

The bashing noise was right behind them now. Erika and Jane looked back and saw some girl standing there. Her head was leaning on something. Only part of her was reviled through the poor lighting.

"Okay, I'm getting a really bad vibe from that".

"I was better off coming alone, you two are nothing but scared children". Katie started walking towards the girl. "Okay, yeah, you're so scary. You got us! So why don't you just go back that way. We've got things to," In one swift movement, the girl lifted the large hammer she was leaning on and swung it, just missing Katie, and smashing into, and denting, the wall it landed on. Katie's eyes were wide, her mouth dry. "You crazy bitch. You were going to hit me"! The girl slowly raised her head. Katie tumbled and fell backwards. The girls face. It looked like someone tore it off and crudely pasted it back on.

"HaHAHAhahaHahah"! The girl raised her hammer and tapped the ceiling. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, odd sounding growls, and frantic footsteps could be heard from above them. A few of the ceiling tiles fell to the ground with a heavy thud. Then something fell from it. Then something else. And several more after that. They had no faces. No eyes, no mouths, parts of them were glowing in the dark. Katie, still on the ground, was backing up as fast as she could. The things that fell from the ceiling were on all fours. Shaking violently and making disturbing noises. The girl tapped her hammer on the floor and they all started coming for Katie. She got up and moved faster then she ever had in her life. She and her friends came to a flight of stairs with an open door a the top. They got in and slammed it shut, locking it and throwing whatever they could find in front of it. The things chasing them were throwing their bodies at the door. Clawing to get in. The large window on the door gave them an all to frighting look at the beasts.

The girls continued running, not daring to look back. They found themselves in a circular room, filled with filing cabinets, and another door across from where they had entered. Erika closed the door they came in through and then they all leaned cabinets against it, then ran out the second door.

"Hey, stop. I need to catch my breath for a second". All the girls were wheezing from the sprinting they just did. Over their loud exhales and coughing the girls heard something else. The same kind of growling those things that chased them made. They looked behind themselves, but saw nothing. There was another hallway in front of them, but it was empty. Or, it was. Something quickly ran by it. It was the same as those other monstrosities. It went by to quick to see them though. More started running by. And the girls froze as one stopped and turned towards them. It howled and got the others attention. Several started running at them. The girls fled back to the room with the cabinets and slammed the door, blocking it off like the other one. The things were bashing themselves against it, obsessed with getting in. They turned to the other door and saw at least a dozen more, just sitting outside, waiting for them. The frantically looked around the room for some way out.

"Were trapped, oh god, what do we do"!

"Shut up Jane, let me think"! Banging on the ceiling immediately caught their attention. A tile fell to the floor. The all expected more of those things to fall down. But instead it was the girl with the hammer. She fell to the floor, with a sadistic smile on her face. She lifted her hammer and smashed it into the window on one of the doors. The girls huddled together as the creatures tried entering through the broken window. Luckily, they all tried to at the same time so they got caught in it. The girl slowly walked over to the three friends. She tilted her head slightly, as if she was studying them. Then quickly smashed the other window, causing a frenzy of the creatures. The three girls squirmed and backed away as much as they could. They were taken by complete surprise when the hammer girl grabbed Erika and Jane and threw each of them to a window. Katie watched in complete shock as her friends were lifted off the ground by the creatures and dragged away. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. This kind of thing wasn't supposed to happen. And then she realized, she was alone with the girl, who was standing over her, with a twisted smile on her face. She took a few steps towards her, each time Katie let out a loud yell. She lifted her hammer and the light went out, causing Katie to scream as loudly as she could. When the light turned back on, she was alone. No sign of anyone else in the room.

"Round three is over! Sadly there were no survivors, again. The final round starts in ten minutes". Kevin walked over to Marie who was getting a bottle of water. "Jesus Marie. That was kind of harsh, even for you. People watching were freaking out".

"She deserved it. Good thing Erika and Jane were willing to help scare her. Even they said she's been acting like a total Brat lately. How'd you get her out anyways"?

"We sent security in and they had to carry her out. She wasn't moving".

"And you recorded it all"?

"Yep".

"Fantastic". Marie went back to her chair where Edd was sitting, finishing off his third bottle of water. "Hey, you alright"?

"For the last time Marie, I am fine. Just a little hot is all". Marie was in to good a mood to argue with him. She told Edd about her plan to scare the life out of Katie. She was very proud of the planning she did. Organizing all the body painted people, having them come down from the ceiling, trapping Katie in that room only to have her friends dragged out in front of her. Everything went off without a hitch.

The final round ended and Kevin was kind enough to give Edd and Marie a ride home. Neither one of them was up for any kind of movement at the moment.

"So thanks for another great date Puddin".

"It was my pleasure Marie." he replied. "I hate to cut this short, but I really feel I need to lie down. I'm feeling rather lightheaded at the moment. I'll talk to you tomorrow". He smiled and sluggishly made his way inside his house. Marie blew him a kiss and said goodbye, returning to her house where she showered, made a snack, and passed out.

Marie slept in until 11:00 and after watching some cartoons and eating lunch she tried calling Edd. He didn't answer. She'd never known Edd to sleep in and even when he was busy he would always send her a text telling her he'd get back to her later. She thought he was acting strange last night, and now she was freaking out thinking something had happened. She put on some cloths and rushed over to Edd's door, knocking hard. She saw his parents car gone, so she knew he was home alone. After a full minute of knocking she heard someone approach the door. When it finally opened she saw Edd. And he looked like hell. His face was pale white, his nose was running, his whole body shaking. He tried to fake a smile for Marie, but he couldn't and as soon as he tried to speak he fell over.

"Oh jeez". She picked him up and helped lead him to his bedroom. Where she laid him on his bed.

"Hello Marie, when did you get here?" he said, dazed and confused.

"It's okay sweetie, I'm going to take care of you". Edd tried to speak, but immediately fell asleep. Marie grabbed the chair from his desk and sat next to him. She always had to take care of May when she got sick and her mom was working, so she had some idea of what to do, but Edd clearly had more then a little cold. She would have to stay with Edd until his parents got home later to make sure he doesn't die or anything.

Marie went into Edd's bedroom bathroom and wet a towel to put across his forehead. He was burning up. Saw some medicine on his sink, so she knew not to give him anymore for a few hours. After all that she found herself pacing around in Edd's bedroom. She couldn't help but look through some of his stuff. She came across a notebook titled "Summer Vacation". She knew it was wrong to snoop, but she had to check it out.

**AN: So next chapter I'm going to go over what Edd did over the summer and explore his relationship with his parents more. Should be fun. Thanks for reading!**


	25. Chapter 25

Marie raided Edd's kitchen for a small snack and glass of water. Edd had completely passed out in his bed. He still had a fever, though it's gone down some, probably due to the medicine Marie saw on his bathroom sink. She had no idea what it was, but it said to take once every eight hours. Thanks to a handy post-it note she found on the bathroom mirror she knew Edd had taken a pill at 10:20am. So she would have to make sure he took some again at 6:20. Convenient for her that Edd kept track of everything and always wrote it down.

After she made sure Edd looked comfortable, and wasn't dead, she picked up the 'Summer Vacation' journal she found. Edd hadn't mentioned much of his vacation, only that he traveled around with his parents. He had mentioned a few of the places he went, but Marie couldn't recall what they were. She skimmed through the pages and stopped midway through the journal, and started reading.

_Venezuela:_

_The contrast between the rich and the poor here is truly remarkable. Within merely a few blocks you would see lavish housing and hotels, then the most deplorable of conditions. One poor family told me how their home, which was built on a hillside, just slid down the hill after a particularly strong rain__storm__. _

_Mother and father were sen__t__ here because of an accident at a recently opened hotel. Poor construction caused a rather large chunk of the building to fall apart. An important man, he may have been the owner of the hotel, or the company that built it, I can't recall. He was severely injured, as were several others. Mother was sent down to __assist__on their__procedures.__ I only saw a brief glimpse of his face, and that was enough to deter me away from staying. __If they feel the need to call my mother, I cannot even imagine how __bad__ their injuries may be. _

_ Looking on the brighter side of this trip. __W__hile my mother is working on the business men and women from the hotel incident, father gets to take some time and __provide care to the less fortunate. That seems to be the way their business works. The doctors in the__ir__ company are so skilled and in such high demand that they'll get paid virtually any price to get sent out. A lot of that money goes to treating people who can't afford the same care as the high level clientele my parents and the other doctors of their company work for._

_I accompanied my father to a series of __P__alafitte, __sometimes__ referred to as Stilt houses __(I__ believe?__). They are __structures __built on top of a body of water. __There I assisted him in treating some young men and women. Nothing as serious as what my mother was dealing with. __T__here was no need for any sort of invasive surgery or anything of that sort. At worst, someone needed some stitches. My father actually guided me through stitching a small arm wound on a young man named Julian, and I must say, it was one of the best moments of my life. _

_ Now, my Spanish is far from perfect, __but I was able to do my fair share of communicating with a lot of the patients. Sure, many of them spoke some degree of English, but I thought it was only right to try speaking in their native language. __After treating him, a man named Gabriel invited me and my father to an area of a nearby River for a small celebration. We were quick to accept his offer. _

_The remainder of the day was spent trading stories and observing the wonderfully diverse wildlife of the area. A Sloth __found it's way, slowly, onto me and promptly fell asleep. My father played some type of water sport with some of the other adults. A small pack of River Dolphins even joined them for a brief moment. One was pink! What __a remarkable sight it was__. However, once one of the women joked about piranhas, my father swiftly made his way out of the water for the remainder of the trip._

_'__**Vrrrrr**__'_

Marie's attention from the journal broke when she heard a vibrating sound. She looked over at her phone, which she left out on Edd's desk, but that wasn't the source. She looked around and found Edd's phone on the floor beside his bed. It must have fallen out of his pocket when he went to answer the door. He wasn't one, even when sick, to just leave something like a phone lying around. Marie had no intention of answer the phone. At first. She just wanted to silence it so she could get back to reading. That changed however when she saw who was calling. It was Edd's Father. Marie let the phone go off a few more times, debating whether or not she should answer. She figured his parents knew he wasn't well. But what if they left early, like Edd told her they often did? She had to check and be sure his parents were aware of the condition Edd was in.

"Hello." Marie answered the phone in a very nervous manner.

"Hello? Eddward?" Edd's father responded, confused at the high pitched voice on the other line.

"No. This is Marie".

"Marie? Well, good afternoon to you. Might I ask why Eddward didn't answer his phone?" he had a surprisingly cheerful tone. Marie had thought his parents would freak out if someone other then their son answered his phone.

"Um. Well. I came by today, to check on Double D. He seemed a little off last night. And when I got here, he answered the door, but, then passed right out. I had to carry him up the stairs and put him in his bed. He seemed to have taken some medicine a bit ago that helped drop his fever, but I'm not really sure what I should do. I wanted to stay here until one of you got back. To make sure he's alright and everything." Marie took a long gasp of air after her long reply.

"Well that figures. We were afraid something like this. A friend, a business partner, stopped by yesterday. He was traveling and caught something nasty. My wife and I managed to avoid it, but, it looks like Eddward wasn't so lucky. And to make matters worse, my wife and I won't be returning home until next Saturday". Wonderful. Marie thought to herself. "I hate to ask this of you, but would you mind staying there and helping him out. At least until he's able function by himself"?

"Sure. I don't mind". I'm going to be responsible for killing Double D.

"Oh, thank you so much Marie! Now, there's a pharmacy in town that a friend of mine works at. I'll give him a call and tell him what's going on. He'll get the proper medicine ready for Eddward, but I'll need you to pick it up. Eddward is going to be a little, delirious, for the time being. At least until the medicine can fully take effect. So whatever nonsense he spews out, just ignore it. Oh, and wear a mask. I'm sure Eddward has some somewhere in his room. We can't thank you enough Marie. I'll give my friend a call, then call Eddward's phone to let you know when he'll have the medicine ready. You're a lifesaver"! He hung up.

Marie went to Edd's dresser and opened a drawer labeled "Medical Supplies". There she found a mask. She received another call from Edd's father shortly after the first one ended. She had to pick up the medicine in two hours. She took a look out Edd's bedroom window and saw snow falling from the sky. She wasn't looking forward to that trip. Not one bit.

A hour went by and Marie was passing the time going through Edd's journal. She couldn't read for long as Edd was starting to shout things in his sleep. Weather it was from being sick, or a bad dream, she didn't care. It was pretty annoying. So she went downstairs and poured a glass of orange juice. It seemed like something that would help him.

Marie was preparing for her walk through the sludge outside. She was going to stop home and grab a big jacket, a hat, scarf, whatever else she could find. She was not a big fan of the snow, being cold, the nasty sludge on the ground. Any of it.

"Double D. You hear me? I have to run and get your medicine. I'll only be gone for ten minutes alright"? Marie was going to all the windows in Edd's room and locking them. She didn't want to take any chances of him jumping out one while she was gone. She wasn't even sure Edd was hearing a word she was saying.

"No Don't go!" Edd pleaded, grabbing her waist. Apparently he could hear her.

"No no no, no touching. I don't want your germs. Good god, I sound like you now".

"I'm so hot. I need to sing you a song".

"You can sing me a song when I get back. Nurse Marie has to go. I'll be right back.". Marie felt like she was talking to a child.

"You're not wearing a nurse outfit".

"I left it at home. I'll go get it".

"But, but I have one in my closet". Marie stared blankly at him. "Yeah, you can just wear that one. Eddy made me and Ed wear them once. He really wanted some jawbreakers that day. I should bring him some next time I visit"! Marie patted him on the head and headed for the stairs. Not before taking a quick look in his closet though.

"I'll be damned. He really has one".

"Nurse Marie".

"Yes Eddward?" she was getting really annoyed.

"I love you". Marie's heart skipped a beat.

"I'll be right back. Don't die!" she yelled as she ran towards the front door. She stood outside, strong winds and snow hitting he face. Did Edd just tell her he loved her?

**AN: Sorry for the lack of updates. The past few weeks have been crazy and I'm not in the best of health right now. Was hoping writing this would sort of take my mind off it ;_; Thanks for reading!**

**O****h, if anyone from ****Venezuela reads this, sorry if I completely missed the ball on writing about it. I read a bunch of articles about it before I wrote this but I'm not sure how accurate some of what I wrote was.**


	26. Chapter 26

"Chill out, Marie. Heh. Chill out. Puns. Whatever voodoo Edd's under right now is making him nuts. He didn't mean anything he said. He won't even remember it by the time you get back." Marie's brisk walk into town, through the ice, sludge, and falling snow, gave her a lot of time to over-analyze what Edd had said to her before her parting. "What if he did though? Is it really so hard to believe someone could fall for you? Come on, you're a catch! Beautiful, charming, artistic. He'd be crazy not to have fallen for you by now." Marie took Edd's journal, which she brought with her in case she was made to wait for his prescription, and began smacking her head with it. "Well, at least it was a short walk. Edd's dad told me to say I was there to pick up Ronald's prescription for Eddward."

Marie entered the building that had a simplistic "Pharmacy" sign hanging outside it. An older woman passed Marie on her way out of the building. She smiled and said "Good morning," as she went out the door. Marie did her best to smile back, not wanting to seem rude. As weird as it sounds, Marie liked old people. They did what they wanted and didn't take crap from anybody. She admired their spunk.

It was a great relief when Marie saw there were no other customers at the counter. She couldn't stand the smell of this place, it was like a dentists office. It was just horrible, and she wanted out as soon as possible. She saw an older man behind the front counter. He was looking at small bottles of pills and writing things on a notepad. She stood before him for a moment before he realized she was there.

"Oh, Hello dear. I'm sorry, I didn't see you there," he said. The man was grinning ear to ear.

"It's no problem. Um. I'm here to pick up Ronald's prescription for Eddward."

"Ah! So you must be Marie? Yes yes, Ronald called and told me you'd be coming. Nasty bug Eddward has huh? Well I have just what he needs. I'm afraid it will be a few more minutes until it's ready. Please, take a seat and I'll let you know when it's finished." Marie nodded her head and found a seat. She tried to hide her frustration from the old man.

"Why does putting a few pills in a cup take so damn long," she thought. Marie's mood rapidly changed however, when the vent on the ceiling above her began poring out hot air. She was grinning as wide as the old man now.

"You looked a bit cold. Hopefully the wait will be little easier now." Now warm and comfortable, Marie began reading more of Edd's journal.

_My parents travel all across the world on a weekly basis. This gives them the ability to befriend the people they work for in all the corners of the globe. After the work in Venezuela, __we__flew__ out to Tahiti. In all their travels neither of them have ever been scuba diving or snorkeling. They decided this would be a great time to try it._

_ We spent a day relaxing after all the long flights, but soon boarded another plain and departed for Rurutu, an island 350 miles southwest of Tahiti. It was only a 90 minute flight, much more tolerable then the previous few. Once there we met with the woman in charge of the 'Raie Manta Club'. It was the only snorkel/diving trip operator on the island, and the woman, Sara, promised my parents a free session anytime they were in the area. A few years prior they helped her son after some sort of accident. I thought it would be impolite to bring it up, so I'm not sure what exactly it was. _

_ During this time of year Rurutu was a favorite stop of southern humpback whales, who come to the waters to mate and give birth. Sara brought us right next to a group. It was absolutely remarkable. The water was so clear, and the whales, so beautiful. Divers aren't allowed to approach the animals, however, sometimes they decide to approach you. Which is what one did. It came right up to us and I was able to 'pet' it. The enormous creature seemed to be dancing around us. So majestic and beautiful. It stayed for only a moment, but it's surely one I'll never forget. _

_ The diving was done early in the morning so with the day still young mother and I decided to go horseback riding. Father has an odd fear of horses. Mother said it would be better not to ask about it. So it would just be us. Riding on the beaches, seeing the lush green scenery all across the island. I'd love to one day call this place home. The day ended with mother and I making a fire on the beach and just talking for a while while making S'mores._

_ Getting some time alone with both mother and father during our trip to Rurutu was wonderful. I can't wait to see what other amazing stops we make. I only wish it could last a little longer._

"Marie. Your order is ready." Marie got up and stretched before going up to the counter. "Here you are. He'll need to take two right away. Then one every eight hours after that. His fever should go away after a day or so, and the other symptoms could go away as soon as tonight."

"Thank you," she said to the man.

"Please tell him Mr. Golden says hi. Been a while since I moved from next door. Haven't heard much from him since." Marie assured him she would pass his message on and began the cold journey back to Edd's house.

The entire time she was gone, Marie couldn't stop herself from thinking that Edd would find a way to hurt himself. She doubted he'd be able to get out of bed. Though, what if he did? He could fall down the stairs, or slip and bash his head!

"No, Marie, no! None of that is going to happen, you need to calm down. You're going to get back and he'll be fine. Stop worrying for five minutes. Look. There's his house. His window is still shut, the house isn't on fire. Everything is fine."

_Ruff ruff!_

A sudden barking sound startled Marie and caused her to drop the bag with Edd's medicine in it. Looking down at the bad she saw the cause of the barking. A small, very skinny, puppy. It was digging it's head in the bag, probably looking for some food. It looked like it hadn't eaten in a while.

"You poor baby." Marie loved dogs. Living in the trailer park most of her life made it impossible to have one though. She bent down to examine the puppy. It sniffed her, wagging it's tail. "No tags. Are you a stray, boy?" She couldn't leave the puppy out in this weather. She knew Edd would kill her if she let it into his house. But he was delirious and wouldn't be able to do anything about it right away. She made up her mind. She picked both the bag and the puppy up and continued onward to Edd's house.

The house was quiet. Edd wasn't lifeless at the bottom of the stairs. So far so good. She ran up the stairs and into Edd's room. There, he was sound asleep. Marie couldn't help but smile. She set the puppy down, he began sniffing everything in Edd's room. Marie gently shook Edd to try and wake him. She needed to give him his medicine now so it would start working by tonight. It was just past noon. So he would need to take a two pills now, and at eight tonight, then another at four in the morning and so on.

Despite her best effort, Edd was not waking up. Thinking hard Marie came up with a plan. She ran into the kitchen and grabbed a piece of bread, and a slice of cheese. She wrapped each of the pills in little balls of the bread. She sat Edd up and slid the bread down his throat. They weren't huge pills so they went down without much push. Edd coughed a little, but no harm done. Now she just needed to wait for him to wake up. In the meantime however. She unwrapped the cheese she took from the kitchen and cut it into small pieces, and gave them to the puppy. He devoured them in an instant.

"Ugh, my head. What time is it?" Edd slowly rose from his bed. He looked across his room and jumped at the sight of Marie staring back at him.

"Morning puddin. Bout' time you got up." She grinned.

"Marie?" Edd asked, confused. "When did you, how did you get in?"

"You really don't remember letting me in this morning? You're in worse shape then I thought." Edd wiped the sweat from his forehead and grabbed a sip from the glass of orange juice on his nightstand. He saw the pills Marie picked up sitting besides them.

"What are these?" he asked, already reading the container the pills were in.

"Short version. Some guy your parents work with got you infected with some virus he picked up traveling. Don't remember the name. I talked to your dad and he ordered the pills for you and I picked them up. Then I put two of them in pieces of bread and got you to swallow them because you wouldn't wake up. Oh. Mr. Golden says hi." It took a minute for Edd to process all of what Marie had said. He tried getting out of his bed but was still to weak to stand on his own. He turned to say something to Marie. That's when he noticed the dog sitting on her lap.

"Marie. What is that?" She responded only by smiling back at him.

** Thanks for reading! I just started a Pokemon story, so if you're a fan of that, I'd love some feedback.**


	27. Chapter 27

Edd looked in horror to the small dog that was clawing on his bedsheets trying to jump up to him. Edd loved things like bugs, insects, and arachnids, but dogs? He wasn't a big fan of those. He still felt very weak and the side effects of the pills he had taken hadn't completely worn off so his attempts at getting up to scold Marie for bringing this filthy beast into his home would have to wait.

"Don't waste your time trying to get up," Marie said. "You're going to be stuck in bed for a bit." Marie bent down and picked up the small dog and placed it in her lap. For whatever reason though, it really wanted to get up to Edd and immediately jumped off of Marie's lap and tried, once again, to get to him. Marie could see how mad Edd was. She really wanted to laugh, but decided it would be better to wait until he felt better. "Don't look so mad Double D. I did wash him before I let him walk anywhere. He's squeaky clean, look." Marie again picked up the puppy and rubbed it all over her face in an attempt to show Edd how clean she made it. "And before you ask, yes, I gave him a bath in your shower, but I made sure to scrub it down so you wouldn't have a hissy fit. I would have taken him to my house but I didn't want to leave you alone again." Edd took a quick peek at his bathroom. Some of his cleaning supplies were strewn about on the sink.

"You couldn't put all that away when you were done?" he asked, pointing to the cleaning supplies. Marie scowled at Edd and gently tossed the puppy onto his chest and returned to Edd's bathroom to clean her mess.

Edd held the puppy back as it tried to lick his face. He had to admit, the thing was cute, and it's fur was so soft. Marie probably used his conditioner on it. Taking a quick peek, Edd saw the puppy was a boy. He couldn't even be a year old yet.

"Marie, where did you find him?"

"He was at the end of your driveway when I came back from the pharmacy." Marie shouted from the bathroom. "He was filthy, looked like he hadn't eaten in a while, and had no tags. I assumed you'd approve of me taking him in." Edd may not like dogs much but he was happy Marie rescued the poor thing. He was only cranky because of how awful he felt. He patted the dogs head. It laid down right in his lap.

"There!" Marie exclaimed as she exited the bathroom. "Everything is all neat in tidy." There was a certain mocking tone in her voice. However she lit up when she saw the puppy asleep on Edd's lap. "Awe! He's adorable!"

"So Marie. What exactly do you plan on doing with him?"

"He didn't have a collar when I found him, but the fur around his neck is indented like he had one. I guess I'll have to figure out a way to find out who he belongs to. Or maybe I'll just keep him for myself. You'd like that right boy? Hm. I still need a name for you too. How about...Shadow? You like that?" Marie picked the puppy up and twirled around with him. The dog barked excitedly and wagged his tail. "Okay Double D, I need to head out for a while. I wrote down everything the pharmacist told me about the pills. Don't forget to take them!" I'll check back in later tonight to see how you're doing. Come on sweetheart, we have things to buy you."

Edd struggled to get himself out of bed, despite Marie just getting through telling him not to. His body was so weak. He was cold and shaking. Slowly dragging himself to his bathroom mirror, Edd saw how bad he looked. The color in his face was completely gone. A quick splash of hot water in his face and Edd was back in bed, now with his electric blanket to warm him up. He tried to reach his parents, knowing his mother would be having panic attacks worrying about him otherwise.

"Hello mother. Seems you're busy working at the moment. I just wanted to call to let you know I'm alright. I have my medicine, my fever calming down and I'm still very weak, but I'm sure it'll pass once the medicine starts really kicking in. I'm going to rest for a bit but I'll be sure to check in again soon, love you." Edd set his phone's alarm to go off at eight and tried getting some rest.

7:58 PM. Edd was staring at his alarm. Endless tossing and turning, fever coming and going, and a dozen other things prevented him from getting more then five minutes of sleep. He's been in a cold sweat for hours and felt like vomiting. When his alarm finally went off he couldn't grab his medicine faster. Almost immediately Edd began to relax a bit and feel a little better. He knew he was prone to worrying to much and that half of his symptoms were brought on by himself, not the illness.

"Curse my hypochondria." Edd thought he heard a quiet knock and happened to look over to his window. His heart nearly stopped when Marie's face shot into view. He took a second to regain his composure and opened the window. "Good heavens Marie, why are you climbing up to my window in this weather," Edd shouted, causing himself to get lightheaded and fall to his bed.

"That's why, dork. Did you take your pills?" Marie spoke in a very authoritative voice.

"Of course I did Marie." Marie felt Edd's head to check his temperature. Edd's fever was pretty bad. She quickly ran into his bathroom, wet a towel with cold water, and put it on his forehead.

"Lay down. I'll go get you more juice." Edd was very impressed, and surprised, by Marie. He never expected this type of care from her. "Here, more orange juice. Have you called your parents yet?" Edd nodded his head. He left them two messages already. He'd likely hear from them soon. "Okay, do you need anything else while I'm here?"

"Thank you Marie, but I'm fine as is. Just need to actually get some sleep. I'm going to see if I can take some sleeping pills with my medicine. Can't imagine it'll be an issue."

"Well if you don't need anything else I'll let you get to sleeping. Oh! Mind keeping the window unlocked? I'm coming back tomorrow morning to check on you." Edd reached over to his nightstand, grabbed something and threw it at Marie. "A key?" She asked.

"It'll be safer then scaling my house."

"Man, I would have killed for this when we were kids," Marie joked. "Alright, I'll see you in the morning." She blew Edd a kiss and went out the front door. Edd fell back onto his bed and took a large sip of his juice.

With the assistance of some sleeping pills Edd slept mostly through the night. His medicine really started kicking in and his cold sweat dissipated and the urge to vomit had vanished. When morning came he awaited Marie's arrival.

"Double D, you awake?" Marie called up. Edd heard the excited barking of Shadow as well. "Hey, how ya feeling," she asked as she entered the room. She was holding Shadow in one hand and a bag in the other. Edd's only response was a sickening cough. Marie put Shadow and the bag on the ground and went over to Edd and put her hand on his forehead. "Your fever is back. But at least some of the color is back in your face!"

"Woo," Edd replied, completely unenthused. Shadow was jumping up trying to get onto Edd's bed. "Why did you bring Shadow over?"

"Because, we're keeping you company all day silly. Duh."

"No no no, you're going to school. I won't let you skip out on your education just because I'm sick." Edd took a rather serious tone.

"But who will take care of you? You could die without me!" Marie placed her hand on her forehead and fell back, striking a dramatic pose. She looked at Edd, who's expression was as cold as ice. "Oh fine, be a jerk. But I'm keeping Shadow here though. Mom's not going to be home and I'd hate to leave him alone. I bought some food and toys for him. I'll set up his food dish in your bathroom so he doesn't make a mess on your carpet. Try throwing his ball around with him, pet him, let him sleep with you. It'll be good for you to do something other then be miserable in bed." The entire time Marie was talking she was walking around Edd's room looking for small things Shadow could get to and eat.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of him. I have nothing else to do. Stuck in bed all day and night. It's driving me crazy." Marie looked around and grabbed Edd's laptop.

"Here. while I'm at school, you can watch Chowder on my Netflix. It's a cooky show that you'll love. Don't try and get up ether! Guess I'll head to school now," she said in a very pouty tone. "Well, see you later. I'd give you a kiss, but I don't want to get sick, so here." Marie rubbed her nose against Edd's. "Bye puddin". As Marie left Edd could hear her starting to sing. "You take the moon and you take the sun. You take everything that seems like fun." Then he heard the front door close. Now he was alone with Shadow, who was just sitting by his bed, giving Edd puppy-dog eyes.

"Oh, fine. Get up here Shadow." Edd reached down and picked the puppy up. "Well, might as well watch this then."

Edd and Shadow spent many hours watching Chowder, and before they knew it, it was already 11:30, and both of them were starving. Shadow just jumped down and ate some food Marie had left out for him. Edd on the other hand had to get downstairs, and in his current condition, that would be a challenge. As soon as he tried to stand his body rejected the idea and he immediately sat back down.

"How it didn't occur to me that I'd need to go downstairs for food is truly baffling. If only I'd asked Marie to bring something up from the kitchen before she left." Edd very slowly picked himself back up. He looked around his bedroom for anything he could use to assist him in walking. The only thing he found was an old broom he had in the back of his closet. Using the broom as a walking aid, Edd began, at a snails pace, go down each stair. Shadow supplied fantastic motivation for him, barking and wagging his tail ferociously after every step had been crossed. "Good lord that was difficult." Shuffling his way into the kitchen Edd first needed a rest before making any type of food. He watched as Shadow went around and sniffed anything and everything he could. He'd never been in this area of the house before. He came across a pile of newspaper and lifted his leg. "Shadow! No, none of that." Edd yelled, poking the puppy gently with his broom. "One more problem to deal with. Marie probably has a leash in the bag she brought. But of course, that's back upstairs." Edd tried thinking of a solution. Then his pocket started vibrating. He kept his phone with him in case his parents called back. He immediately answered. "Hello," he said.

"Hello Eddward."

"Anna?"

"Yes, I'm so sorry to bother you, but I noticed you were absent from class today and wanted to make sure you were alright. I remember you saying you've never missed a day of school in your life, so if you're not here today, well, I was worried."

"Thank you very much for the call. I got a little bug from a friend of my parents that stopped over a couple of days ago. I have the proper medicine and should be fine in no time."

"That's wonderful to hear. I know you don't want to fall behind, so would you like me to grab the work you missed and bring it by your house after school?"

"That would be great. If you want you could give it to Marie before school lets out. She's been coming by and checking in on me. Making sure "I'm not dead", as she puts it."

"I don't mind stopping over myself. It feels like it's been a while since I've seen you. We can catch up for a little bit."

"Fantastic. I guess I'll see you after school then." Edd hung up and panicked when he saw Shadow lifting up his leg again. "Shadow, no!"

Marie bolted out of the school doors.

"Freedom!" she yelled. She stopped however, when she heard someone calling out her name. In the corner of her eyes, Marie could see Anna approaching. At that same moment her phone went off.

'Hello Marie, you'll have some company on your walk home today :)'

"Damn it Double D." She twirled her body so she was now facing Anna.

"Hello Marie," she said quietly.

"Hi." Marie responded coldly. There was a moment of intense awkwardness between the girls. "Did you need something?"

"Oh! Right. I asked Eddward if he'd like me to drop off the work he missed today. He did it while I was out after all. He said to come by with you. If. That's alright with you, of course."

"Yeah, sure. Come on." Both girls were pretty quiet on the way to Edd's house. But eventually Marie made an effort to start up a conversation. "So, how's your body healing? Still hurt?" Marie thought about the night Anna got hurt a lot. It was pretty gruesome and made her cringe picturing all the blood.

"It still hurts yeah. My doctor advised me not to go back to school just yet, but I couldn't stay gone this long. I have to tape up my body every morning to help with the pain." Anna lifted her Jacket a little to expose the massive amount of tape she was wrapped in.

"Well I'm glad your up and moving again." She genuinely was too. Marie had no idea why she still felt so off around Anna and didn't like how she came off so cold when she was around. "Oh good, we're here. This winter needs to just end already." Marie pulled out her key to Edd's house. Anna looked shocked to see it.

"You have a key?" She asked.

"Yep." Marie responded smugly, with a big smile on her face.

Edd could hear the lock on the front door turning and moments later saw front door swing open. Marie and Anna soon came into view.

"Puppy!" Marie shouted as Shadow jumped all over her. She bent down and gave him a kiss before walking into the kitchen. "Edd! Why are you down here?" She was livid. "What if you fell coming down the stairs?"

"Well, I needed food. I used a walking aid to get me down safely." Mare glared at the old broom set beside Edd. Then back at Edd. "Well you should have brought me food before you left," he teased. Both he and Anna chuckled. Marie grabbed Shadow and ran upstairs. "Hello Anna. Wonderful to see you."

"Hello Eddward." Anna opened her backpack and pulled out a binder and placed it on the kitchen table. "Here's all the work you missed today." Edd and Anna were both in all AP (advanced placement) classes, so they had an unfair amount of work each day. And they were the only two people who actually enjoyed it. "I also made copies of all my notes that I thought would provide any assistance, though I'm sure they won't tell you anything you didn't already know."

"I cannot thank you enough Anna."

"Oh it's nothing. You did the same for me when I was out."

"Yes, how are your injuries coming along?"

"Healing nicely. Tapped up a lot right now, everything still hurts a bit, but the pain meds take care of that most of the time."

"Double D," Marie called from the stairs. "Did Shadow not use the bathroom all day? The paper I put out for him in the bathroom is clean."

"You put paper down for him?" Edd asked confused.

"Yeah, housebreaking him and all. Come on Shadow, let's get you a treat before I start yelling at Double D some more."

"Wish I had known she put out paper."

"How did he use the bathroom?" Anna asked. With a shamed expression, Edd pointed to the window besides the kitchen table. Anna burst out laughing. Marie walked back in and went over and felt Edd's forehead again.

"Good, your fever is gone again. You take your pills?" Edd shook his head. Marie and Anna sat down at the table. Marie pulled out a newspaper from her backpack.

"What's that?" Edd asked.

"It's the school's paper."

"I wasn't aware we had one."

"I overheard that bratty, loudmouthed redhead talking about it at lunch. I found out it's run by Ms. Domm, one of the English teachers. I told her about how I found Shadow and asked her if I could put an add in the paper. She was fine with it." Marie handed Edd the paper that had a picture of Shadow on the front page with a small paragraph describing him. "The kid who wrote it up, the one that had those huge braces before."

"Jimmy?" Edd asked.

"Yeah, him. He did a quick write up and showed it to me, and there were a few grammatical errors that I pointed out."

"Pointed out?" Edd asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I was very polite about it. Didn't call him any names or anything. Ms. Domm liked my "Spunk" as she called it. Asked me if I'd like to write something for the paper each week."

"Did you say yes?" Anna asked.

"Yep. Figured why not, right? I can use a fake name and have some fun with an advice column or something. Let people know how stupid they're being. It'll be great."

"I can ask my uncle if he'd be willing to take a copy and ask people who go rock climbing if they have any idea who he belongs to." Marie smiled and gave a copy to Anna.

The three shot the breeze for a short time before Marie's stomach started growling.

"Do you have any food? I'm literally dying of starvation. I ran straight to the paper after I heard about it at lunch and never got to eat." Edd shook his head.

"There's not really anything left. I haven't gotten to go shopping. I only had an apple, some grapes and a milk-less bowl of cereal to eat today." Marie dropped her head onto the table, rubbing her stomach. "Ugh, fine. I'll go all the way home and make something. Shadow, let's go home baby." She gathered all of Shadow's things and prepared to go.

"I actually should be getting home as well. My parents are worried sick about me leaving the house. If I come home late they'll worry themselves to death."

"Thanks again for bringing me all my missed work. We should all have lunch soon." Anna smiled and nodded.

"Have a good night Eddward."

"You too Anna. Goodbye Marie." Marie walked over and planted a big kiss on Edd's lips. It lasted much longer then it should have. "Really?" Edd whispered to Marie. She just stuck out her tongue and walked with Anna out of the house.

"Well that was nice," Edd said to himself before hearing his phone vibrating on the kitchen table. It was his father. "Hello. Father?"

"Edd, how you feeling buddy? Sorry it's taken so long. We were in a very long meeting. Then my phone died. And your mother lost hers. Again."

"It's alright. I'm doing fine. Those pills are finally starting to help. Still have a fever coming and going, and my body is weak, but it's nothing to bad. How did all your meetings go?"

"They're going well so far. We have a few more over the next couple days. Oh, son. My friend Sebastian called me."

"Sebastian? Sebastian Blake? The dean of Central New York University?"

"Yes sir. I told him how you were hoping to follow our footsteps and become a doctor. He was my best friend during our years there and he's taken you into heavy consideration if you decide to come to New York with your mother and I. He said he'd love to have a talk with you sometime. So we'll have to schedule that in when we come home this week. But I have to go now son. I'll have your mother call you a little later. Love you."

Edd rubbed his head. He never thought he'd have a chance to go to Central New York University. It was a remarkable school. His parents always talked about how amazing their experience there was. Edd had been blocking all thoughts of moving from his mind lately. He just didn't want to think about it. Seemed as though now he'd have to stop putting it off. He really needed to buckle down and figure out what he wants to do. It's only November so there's still time, but it'll be June before he knew it.


	28. Chapter 28

**AN: This is something I wanted to add to the last chapter but couldn't get right. A bit short for it's own chapter, but hopefully not to bad.**

Shortly after Marie and Anna left Double D received a surprise visit from Ed. The two had not had the chance to spend much time together in the months since he had returned home, so this was a welcomed visit for Double D, who greatly missed his longtime friend.

Ed quickly picked up on the fact that Double D was ill and immediately offered one of the sandwiches he had in the lunchbox he had with him. Double D was touched by the sincere worry Ed had shown for his well being and graciously accepted the sandwich. His mouth watered as he took the first bite, but then, a familiar taste swam in his mouth. Double D slowly chewed, and swallowed.

"Ed," he called out.

"Yes Double D?" Ed responded in his usual carefree and happy tone.

"What's. What's in this sandwich?"

"Oh, my favorites, peanut butter, jelly, hot sauce, and gravy." Double D threw up a little in his mouth. But he was starving, and had no choice. So he continued to force down this abomination of a sandwich. The joy on Ed's face made it a little easier to get through.

The old friends shot the breeze for a while. Ed told Double D how much he enjoyed his job at the construction yard and how his grades were improving since he had a tutor help him out on his days off. Double D was very proud of Ed for taking this kind of initiative on his school work.

"You know Ed, I could have helped you with your school work if you had asked."

"I know Double D, but my tutor is great. After we finish our lesson she talks with me about comics and monster movies!"

"She?" Double D asked. Ed went silent, as if he didn't want Double D to know his tutor was a girl. Seeing how uncomfortable Ed became, Double D moved on from subject, instead, telling Ed of what he'd been up to as of late. His time with his parents over the summer, Marie, his nights at the Asylum. Double D couldn't believe Ed had never heard of it before. He touched on his parents business, he knew Ed wouldn't have much interest on the subject but he needed to talk to somebody about it.

"My father stayed in touch with him, and now he's the Dean of the school and is willing to talk to me about going there after I graduate. I've known for a while that at the end of this school year my parents would be moving, and they offered to let me stay here, they're well off enough to be able to keep this house and one in New York so long as I take another job to get my own groceries and such. I had no idea what to do. Now with this chance to get into one of the best schools there is, it just makes everything harder. I want to go, I just don't want to leave my life here behind. Just leave everyone here I care about. I'll be leaving a year before everybody goes off to collage. Friendships are hard enough to maintain now. If I leave, I'll pretty much be throwing everything here away, you know?"

"Double D," Ed's voice took an unfamiliar and serious tone. "Stop trying to figure out where you're going, and enjoy where you are. Partings between you and people you care about are always going to happen. Look at us. Look at Eddy... nothing lasts forever. But you can decide weather it's goodbye forever, or just goodbye for now. We're only here for so long, don't waste your life being unhappy, or wondering what could have been." Double D sat there. Completely dumbfounded at the words coming from his friend. Ed's face was plastered with a truly intense gaze. Not even looking at Double D, but rather past him, slowly beginning to bring a sandwich in his hands up to his mouth for a bite. Then, in an instant, he shot out of the his chair. "I'm late for work!" He shouted. Ed panicked, looking at his watch while making his way to Double D's front door. Not paying attention, he ran face first into it, stumbling backwards before catching himself and bolting out of the door.

"Unbelievable. Absolutely. Unbelievable." In his flash of incredible insight, Ed had given Double D quite a lot to think about.

Making sure he got himself more juice and a small snack, if you can call a handful of grapes a snack that is, Double D returned to his bedroom, taking a seat on his bed.

"So many choices," he thought to himself. "What to do?" His thoughts were interrupted by loud banging on his door. Had Ed forgotten something? He heard the door open and someone begin running up the stairs. It was Shadow.

"Hey puddin," Marie called up the stairs. "I went and picked you up a few things from the store. Just some stuff to hold you over until you can go shopping for yourself. I'll go put it all away for you so you don't have to come back down." Shadow excitedly jumped all over Double D's leg. A smile and an overwhelming feeling of joy swept over him. Double D went over to his desk and pulled out a letter he had received a few days prior. He grabbed a blank sheet of paper, and a pencil, and began to write. When Marie entered his bedroom she greeted him with a kiss on the cheek, and a loud sniffle. Double D handed her a tissue.

"I told you that you were going to get sick."

"Worth it. Are you writing a letter? Who does that anymore," Marie teased. "What's it for?"

"For fixing something." Marie had no idea what he meant, and frankly, didn't care much. She just threw herself on his bed and played with Shadow while telling Double D of the ideas she had for the school's paper.


	29. Chapter 29

**AN: Sorry there's been nothing here for a while. The past few months I've been frantically searching for a job. To no avail. Thought I'd try to write and distract myself from it for a while. Being an adult sucks. Anyways, hope you enjoy. Been a while so please be easy on me if it's not great**

Another day past and Edd was really starting to feel better. He was able to walk with little to no trouble, his temperature was only just above normal, and the color in his face was back. He couldn't wait to be back in school. This was the first time he's had to ever miss school. He may have stayed caught up with all of his work thanks to Anna dropping it off for him but Edd yearned to be in a classroom once more. Fingers crossed, he'd be back tomorrow morning.

It was eight o'clock and Edd was in his pajamas, had a glass of warm milk, and was ready to sleep. Only problem, he wasn't remotely tired. The worst part about being sick for days on end was the way it destroyed sleeping schedules. He'd been up tossing and turning every night not getting much sleep. It drove him nuts, but there wasn't a much he could do to correct it.

Edd was laying in his bed reading when his bedroom light flickered. It took him by surprise and startled him a little, causing him to let out a tiny gasp. Putting down his book, Edd went to open his window and check the whether outside.

"Oh my," he called out. The snow was starting to engulf the entire cul-de-sac. Edd made his way downstairs to check out the news.

"Storm Watch. With winds in excess of forty five mph and up to twenty inches of snowfall expected we highly discourage anyone from leaving their homes and get prepared for the impending storm. The storm will be directly overhead in about two hours. Be safe everyone." Edd turned on his fireplace and retreated into the kitchen to make a snack. He was very knowledgeable and had supplies ready for this kind of situation. He and his parents had storm kits filled with food, water, and other emergency supplies in the basement. As well as several generators in case the power went out. So the storm watch wasn't a huge deal to him.

"What was that?" Edd called out to himself. He heard what sounded like a loud pair of "thumps". "Has the storm gotten that bad already?" At that moment Edd heard his phone going off. So he returned to his bedroom to check who it was. He had received a text message from Marie.

_Open your door!_

It took a second to process, but then,

"Oh my lord!" And Edd ran down to let Marie in.

Edd swung open the front door, reveling Marie, wearing half a dozen jackets and scarfs to protect herself from the storm. He quickly pulled her in and closed the door.

"Marie, why on earth would you go outside in this storm?"

"Mmm mm mmm!" All of Marie's words were muffled through her many scarfs. Edd gently pulled them away from here mouth.

"Why didn't you open the door! I was banging on it for five minutes!"

"Oh, those thuds I heard were you?"

"Oh, those thuds I heard were you," Marie mocked in an irritated fashion before throwing a scarf at Edd's face and removing her hats and gloves.

"I'm sorry, Marie. Why would you even come over in this weather? The news said for everybody to stay in their houses. It was dangerous going out, even if the full brunt of the storm hasn't come yet."

"My power went out and mom took Shadow with her to see my aunt and her kids earlier. She didn't want to drive back in in the storm and I didn't want to be home alone. So I thought, why not go spend some time with Double D? Didn't think you'd leave me out in the cold to freeze." Edd paid no mind to Marie's dramatic tone, but did take notice of her shaking. She was practically vibrating from how cold she was. Edd grabbed her hand and sat her down beside the fireplace. He also wrapped a nice wool blanket around her.

"I'll go get us some hot chocolate." Marie, wrapped tightly in a blanket, slowly scooted herself over to the end table where Edd's television remote was, freed her hand and pressed power.

"He has so many more channels than I do. Oh Rick and Morty, achoo!" Marie had a little cold from the weather, and from whatever Edd gave to her.

"Bless you," Edd said, dropping down to the floor with her, hot chocolate in hand. Marie unwrapped herself so that she could hold the mug. Edd put little marshmallows in it for her. Marie picked them all out and ate them first. Edd smiled and looked at the cartoon playing on his television. There was an old man eating and a small robot on a table.

"What is my purpose?"

"You pass butter."

"Oh my god."

"Yeah, welcome to the club, pal."

Edd wasn't sure what he was watching. Didn't seem like the kind of thing for him, but Marie was finding it hilarious.

"You're probably pretty bummed, right? About the blizzard and all?" Edd had trouble understanding what Marie meant. "You know, you were all excited about going back to school, and now that clearly isn't happening with the storm. It's not supposed to go away until tomorrow." Edd's eyes got wide, somehow he hadn't pieced that together. He dropped his head onto his lap. Marie stroked his hair. "It's okay sweetie. I'll just keep you company until this all blows over." Edd let out a muffled and sarcastic "Yay" from his lap. Marie scoffed and tipped him over. Not amused by Edd's tone.

For a few hours the two talked and watched a bunch of older cartoons and shows they enjoyed when they were younger. Shows like Hey Arnold, Real monsters, Rugrats, Drake and Josh, and many others.

Marie was still freezing, even under all the layers of cloths and blankets she was wrapped in.

"Double D, can I go grab your heated blanket? I'm freezing."

"Of course, it should be right at the foot of my bed." Marie quickly made her way up the stairs and into Edd's room.

"Okay, the foot of his bed. Where is it? It's not there. What? Damn it Double D." Marie looked all around his room and couldn't find it. She then turned to Edd's desk. And while not seeing the blanket, her eyes did wonder to a paper Edd was writing. She picked it up and started reading.

I've always dreamed of following in my parents footsteps, and being a part of your school would help make that dream closer to a reality. Learning from the best there is is the only way I want to learn. I look forward to seeing you in New York, Dean. Regards, Eddward," Marie couldn't finish, she felt a pit in her stomach. Edd was leaving? When? Why didn't he ever bring it up with her? She felt like crying, she was going to lose Edd, just after they became this close? She put the letter back down and after finding the blanket hidden just under Edd's bed, returned to the living room, not wanting to let Edd know she had read some of his letter. He looked at her and smiled when she returned to the couch.

"You find it," he asked. Marie smiled and showed him the blanket. Marie really wasn't in the mood to watch anything right now and just wanted to curl up and feel miserable. Without even realizing it Marie had scooted right up to Edd and started resting her head on his shoulders. Though she did notice that Edd wrapped his arm around her shortly after.

Marie lost track of how long they were laying there watching tv. She couldn't stop thinking about the letter in Edd's room. She finally decided to bring it up.

"Hey, Double D." He looked at her, still smiling. "In your room there was a,"

THUD!

Both kids jumped. A loud thud echoed from the kitchen. They looked at how scared the other was and laughed. The laughing quickly stopped when they heard the sound of multiple tiny "thumps" going up the stairs. Marie grabbed onto Edd's arm. He got up and went into the kitchen. There was nothing out of place. Nothing was moved, nothing broken. They heard more pitter patter from upstairs. Edd immediately tried going up there to investigate. Marie tried holding him back, but he simply brushed her off and ran up to see what was going on. Marie stood at the foot of the stairs, terrified.

"Marie!" She threw out all of her fear when she heard Edd yell for her. Marie fell backwards upon seeing Edd being dragged under his bed. Scratching and clawing to free himself from whatever had him. She urgently dove over and tried to pull him out. He just kept disappearing more and more until his whole body was dragged under. Marie shot up and ran towards the door. It kept getting further and further away. Darkness was enclosing her. She couldn't see a thing. Little hands where grabbing her. Whispering things to her.

"Shut up, get off me!" she yelled. She was stuck, trapped. "Aaah!"

"Aaah! What the hell?" Marie looked around. She was in Edd's living room, laying on the couch. She could see a tinge of light coming through the window, and Edd laying on the floor. Marie wiped the sweat from her forehead and tried to turn the television on. Apparently Edd's house lost power at some point during the night. "What was." She rubbed her eyes and looked down at Edd. She then grabbed a pillow from the couch, and laid it besides him. Then she wrapped herself in the blanket Edd was using, and put his arms around her.


	30. Chapter 30

Marie awoke again hours later to find herself wrapped tightly in Edd's blanket. There was no sign of him in the immediate area, though, she could smell the aroma of something wonderful emanating from the kitchen. Keeping the blanket attached to her she walked over to the living room window to check on the state of things outside. And as expected, the snow was still piling on.

"God, I hate winter," she thought to herself, letting out a loud, annoyed sigh. Her mood improved upon seeing the pancakes Edd was laying out on the kitchen table. Covered in whipped cream with a side of strawberries. She had to wipe the drool spilling out from her mouth. "Hey," she called. Edd turned to her, smiling. "If the power is out, how'd you," Edd raised his hand, which was holding a battery powered skillet. Marie smiled and sat at the table, resting her head on her arm.

"Did you sleep well?" Edd asked.

"For the most part I guess." Edd joined Marie at the table and they both began to quietly enjoy their breakfast. She wondered if Edd would bring up how she was wrapped around him when he woke up. She couldn't help but think of how warm and nice he smelled.

"Marie, are you alright? Your face is a little red." Marie quickly shook those thoughts out of her head.

"Yep yep, I'm fine!" She stuffed her mouth with some more pancakes. Edd looked on, kind of grossed out at the site. Marie started choking on the massive amount of food she crammed into her mouth. Edd got up immediately, but Marie held out her hand. She took a long gulp of her Orange juice and cleared her throat hard. "Alright. Now that I'm done almost dying. It looks like we're stuck here for a while. What do you want to do?" After a brief pause Edd smiled and ran upstairs.

About a minute later Edd returned down the stairs and placed a rather thick book on the kitchen table. Marie opened it. It was a photo album. The first picture she saw was of Edd, Ed and Eddy, dressed up in cheep tuxedos. Edd looking regretful, Ed laughing at something off camera, and Eddy slicking back his hair.

"Oh my god, I remember that!" She shouted.

"That was,"

"That was the day you guys opened the "fancy" restaurant for all the neighborhood kids," she interrupted. "The food actually wasn't bad."

"I should hope not. I poured my all into those dishes."

"And me and my sisters stormed in and demanded a meal. Oh god, we were so awful."

"Yeah," Edd replied unapologetically. Throwing her a smile. "Remember what we did in the kitchen?"

"You mean when you picked me up and put me on the counter and tried getting me to "pucker up"? I vaguely recall something like that, yes." Marie hung her face in shame while lightly laughing.

"All those horrible things we did to you Eds back then. Forcing you to kiss us and everything. And to think. Now. If I want a kiss. I could just reach over and do it and you wouldn't back away."

"Oh?" Edd replied, eyebrow raised. Marie, shocked expression and all, leaned over to him, lips puckered. When her face got close, Edd raised his finger and plopped it on her nose. "Boop." Marie widened her eyes, before scowling at him. Edd could barely contain his amusement. Marie flipped to the next page of the photo album. Not removing her annoyed glare from Edd.

For the next hour the two reminisced on their childhoods. All the, unique, moments they shared. But once the book closed there was a pause. Marie lifted her legs onto the chair she was sitting in.

"So. We're pretty tight, right?"

"Yeah," Edd paused, "We're very "tight"?"

"Then why didn't you mention you were leaving to New York to go to school?" There was another pause in the room. Edd put his head in his hands and looked away from Marie.

"You read my letter?"

"I know I shouldn't have, but it was right there, just begging me to look at it."

"Almost like I left it there so you'd see it?" He didn't? "Yes Marie, I'm trying to get into a Collage in New York. The Dean of the school is an old friend of my parents and agreed to meet with me and talk. I doesn't mean I will get in, but It's an opportunity I can't pass up. I had no idea how to bring it up so I left my letter on my desk, hoping you'd see it."

"You know, this is the kind of thing you're supposed to feel comfortable bringing up with me. The important life decisions. I mean, we're practically dating. There's nothing you can't tell me Edd." A genuine smile crept over Edd's face.

"It's not exactly an easy thing to bring up. You know how bad I am at keeping in touch ith people. If I left, who knows when the next time you'd hear from me would be."

"Oh, it would be the second you got to your plane. Then the second you got off. Then when you got to the school. I worked to hard to reel you in, you're not getting rid of me that easily." Edd got up from his chair and walked over to Marie. Placing his hand on her cheek and planting a big kiss on her lips.

During this sweet embrace there was a 'thump' coming from Edd's room.

"Oh my, wonder hat that was." He started up the stairs.

"No!" Marie screamed out, grabbing his arm. He looked at her confused and a little scared. "Um, I'll go. You stay here." Marie ran up to Edd's bedroom. Not sure what she was expecting.

Edd followed suit shortly after.

"Is it safe," he joked. Edd immediately saw his phone lying on the ground. It must have vibrated and fell off his desk.

"Did someone text you?" Edd looked down at his phone.

"Oh lord. Not again." He quickly took off down the stairs, rushing to his front door.

Marie stayed on the steps and watched Edd, and upon opening the door she saw Ed shivering in the blizzard.


End file.
